2024 Wuhan Open (snooker)

The 2024 Wuhan Open (officially the 2024 Optics Valley of China Wuhan Open) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 6 to 12 October 2024 at the China Optics Valley Convention & Exhibition Center (COVCEC) in Wuhan, China. The sixth ranking event of the 2024‍–‍25 season, it followed the 2024 British Open and preceded the 2024 Northern Ireland Open. The winner received £140,000 from a total prize fund of £700,000.

Qualifiers took place from 28 to 30 July 2024 at the Leicester Arena in Leicester, England. Qualifying matches featuring the defending champion (Judd Trump); the reigning World Champion (Kyren Wilson); the two highest ranked Chinese players (Ding Junhui and Zhang Anda); four Chinese wildcards (Cai Wei, Wang Xinbo, Zhou Jinhao, and Huang Hao); and Mark Joyce were held over and played in Wuhan.

Trump won the inaugural 2023 event, defeating Ali Carter 10‍–‍7 in the final, but he failed to defend his title, losing 2‍–‍6 in the semi‑finals to Si Jiahui. Xiao Guodong won the tournament, defeating Si 10‍–‍7 in the final to claim the first ranking title of his career. The tournament produced 114 century breaks, with 32 made during the qualifying stage and 82 during the main stage. Si made the tournament's highest break, compiling his first maximum break in professional competition during his semi‑final match with Trump.

Format

The tournament, the second edition of the Wuhan Open, took place from 6 to 12 October 2024 at the China Optics Valley Convention & Exhibition Center (COVCEC) in Wuhan, China. It was the sixth ranking event of the 2024‍–‍25 season, following the 2024 British Open and preceding the 2024 Northern Ireland Open.

All matches up to and including the quarter‑finals were the best of nine frames. The semi‑finals were the best of 11 frames, and the final was the best of 19 frames, played over two sessions.

The qualifying matches were broadcast by the WST Facebook page, by Discovery in Europe, and by Matchroom Sport in all other territories. The main stage of the event was broadcast by Eurosport and Discovery in Europe (including the United Kingdom and Ireland); by the CBSA‑WPBSA Academy WeChat Channel, CBSA‑WPBSA Academy Douyin and Huya Live in China; by Now TV in Hong Kong; by Astro SuperSport in Malaysia and Brunei; by True Sport in Thailand; by TAP in the Philippines; and by Sportcast in Taiwan. It was available from Matchroom Sport in all other territories.

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for this event is shown below:

Total: £700,000

Summary

Qualifying round

The sixth seed Mark Selby was knocked out in qualifying by Long Zehuang, despite making breaks of 135 and 130. Long took the last four frames for a 5‍–‍4 victory. Ali Carter came back from 0‍–‍2 down to defeat Wang Yuchen 5‍–‍3, and Duane Jones beat the fourth seed Luca Brecel 5‍–‍4. Neil Robertson whitewashed Ken Doherty, and Marco Fu defeated Zhou Yuelong 5‍–‍1.

Early rounds

Held over qualifying matches

The held over qualifying matches were played on 6 October as the best of 9 frames. Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrew and was replaced by Mark Joyce. David Gilbert also withdrew but was not replaced and so Wang Xinbo was given a walkover to the last 64. Joyce defeated Mitchell Mann 5‍–‍2. Kyren Wilson beat Liam Davies 5‍–‍1, and Ding Junhui beat Robbie McGuigan 5‍–‍2.

Last 64

The last 64 matches were played on 6 and 7 October as the best of 9 frames. Mark Allen withdrew and so Jamie Clarke was given a walkover to the last 32. Jackson Page beat Neil Robertson 5‍–‍1, and Stan Moody beat Ryan Day 5‍–‍4. Ali Carter beat Mark Davis 5‍–‍4, and Marco Fu beat Louis Heathcote 5‍–‍1. Anthony McGill beat Mostafa Dorgham 5‍–‍4 and Judd Trump beat He Guoqiang 5‍–‍2. Amateur player Mark Joyce beat Sanderson Lam 5‍–‍2. Kyren Wilson whitewashed Aaron Hill and Hossein Vafaei defeated Jordan Brown 5‍–‍3. John Higgins beat Fan Zhengyi 5‍–‍4, Shaun Murphy defeated Anthony Hamilton 5‍–‍3, and Ding Junhui whitewashed Xu Si.

Last 32

The last 32 matches were played on 8 October as the best of 9 frames. In the afternoon session, Xiao Guodong defeated Kyren Wilson 5‍–‍4, Ali Carter beat Marco Fu 5‍–‍3, Shaun Murphy beat Noppon Saengkham 5‍–‍3, and Long Zehuang whitewashed Jackson Page. In the evening session, amateur player Mark Joyce whitewashed Robbie Williams. Judd Trump beat Anthony McGill 5‍–‍2, Ding Junhui defeated Yuan Sijun 5‍–‍2, and Jack Lisowski beat Jak Jones 5‍–‍1.

Last 16

The last 16 matches were played on 9 October as the best of 9 frames. In the afternoon session Judd Trump beat John Higgins 5‍–‍2, Jack Lisowski whitewashed Wu Yize, Long Zehuang beat Ben Woollaston 5‍–‍3, and Shaun Murphy defeated Ali Carter 5‍–‍4. In the evening session Chris Wakelin beat Ding Junhui 5‍–‍3, making three back‑to‑back century breaks. Zhang Anda recovered from 0‍–‍3 down to defeat amateur Mark Joyce 5‍–‍4 on a re‑spotted black in the deciding frame. Si Jiahui beat Duane Jones 5‍–‍2, and Xiao Guodong defeated Barry Hawkins 5‍–‍2.

Later rounds

Quarter-finals

The quarter-finals were played on 10 October as the best of 9 frames. In the afternoon session Xiao Guodong beat Shaun Murphy 5‍–‍1, making three back‑to‑back century breaks. After the match Xiao said: "It's great that two Chinese players have reached the semi‑finals in a Chinese event, guaranteeing a spot in the final for one of us. Congratulations to Long Zehuang." Long beat Jack Lisowski 5‍–‍1. Long said: "I didn't expect this scoreline, or to make it to the semi‑finals. I feel like I had a bit of luck. My performance was normal, but in snooker, sometimes you need that bit of luck." In the evening session Si Jiahui defeated Zhang Anda 5‍–‍3. After the match Si said: "Both of us were a bit nervous for the whole game. We both really wanted to win. I've played him [Zhang] a few times before and have lost every time." Judd Trump beat Chris Wakelin 5‍–‍4. Trump said: "It was frustrating at times and especially in that last frame, where it looked like he [Wakelin] was going to fluke a couple of balls and end up winning."

Semi-finals

The semi-finals were played on 11 October as the best of 11 frames. In the afternoon session Xiao Guodong recovered from 1‍–‍4 down to take five frames in a row and beat Long Zehuang 6‍–‍4. After the match Xiao said: "I'm really happy to make it to the final. Long Zehuang played well today too. Before 4‍–‍1 down, he put me under a lot of pressure. Long has only been a professional for two years and I think he has a lot of potential." In the evening session Si Jiahui defeated the defending champion Judd Trump 6‍–‍2, making the first maximum break of his professional career in the fourth frame and two other century breaks. Si said: "This time I kept a calm mindset playing against Judd [Trump]. I've lost a lot of matches whilst making 60 breaks against him before, so I didn't think too much about beating him. I just focused on learning from him and playing my own game. Today, I didn't feel much pressure, so I played very smoothly." Trump said: "This is the best performance there has been against me, by quite far. Apart from maybe John Higgins and the odd Ronnie [O'Sullivan] performance, this is as well as you can play. He wasn't even touching the knuckles, everything was going in clean. It was like an exhibition game for him at the end. He was enjoying it so much and would have wanted to stay out there all night."

Final

The final was played on 12 October as the best of 19 frames, played over two sessions. Si Jiahui played Xiao Guodong in only the third all‑Chinese ranking final, after the 2013 Shanghai Masters and the 2022 German Masters. At the end of the afternoon session Xiao led Si 6‍–‍3 with both players making a century break. Xiao went on to win the match 10‍–‍7. After the match Xiao said: "Si played very well today and we had a high quality final. Having two Chinese players reaching the final on home soil, the crowd were incredibly enthusiastic. Si's comeback in the last few frames made me quite nervous. This title goes to me for now, but he'll have plenty of opportunities in the future." Si said: "I was a bit nervous in the final, but I have no regrets. I played well enough. It's a bit of a pity, but it's okay. I'll come back next time and aim to win my first title."

Main draw

The draw for the tournament is shown below. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the top 32 seeded players, and players in bold denote match winners.

Top half

Bottom half

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

Final

Qualifying

Qualification for the tournament took place from 28 to 30 July 2024 at the Leicester Arena in Leicester. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the top 32 seeded players, and players in bold denote match winners.

Wuhan

Qualifying matches featuring the defending champion (Judd Trump); the reigning World Champion (Kyren Wilson); the two highest ranked Chinese players (Ding Junhui and Zhang Anda); four Chinese wildcards (Cai Wei, Wang Xinbo, Zhou Jinhao, and Huang Hao); and Mark Joyce were held over and played in Wuhan. The results of the held over matches played on 6 October were as follows:

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