2020 Welsh Open (snooker)

The 2020 Welsh Open (officially the 2020 ManBetX Welsh Open) was a professional snooker tournament which took place from 10 to 16 February 2020 at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales. It was the 12th ranking event of the 2019–20 snooker season, and the final tournament of the season's Home Nations Series. It was the 29th edition of the Welsh Open, first held in 1992. The event featured a prize fund of £405,000 with the winner receiving £70,000.

2020 ManBetX Welsh Open
Tournament information
Dates10–16 February 2020 (2020-02-10 – 2020-02-16)
VenueMotorpoint Arena
CityCardiff
CountryWales
OrganisationWorld Snooker Tour
FormatRanking event
Total prize fund£405,000
Winner's share£70,000
Highest break Kyren Wilson (ENG) (147)
Final
Champion Shaun Murphy (ENG)
Runner-up Kyren Wilson (ENG)
Score9–1
2019
2021

Neil Robertson was the defending champion, having beaten Stuart Bingham 9–7 in the 2019 final, but he lost in the quarter-finals to Kyren Wilson. Shaun Murphy won the event, with a 9–1 win over Kyren Wilson in the final. There were a total of 77 century breaks at the event, the highest made by Wilson, a maximum break of 147 in the first frame of his first-round match with Jackson Page.

Format

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The Welsh Open began as a ranking tournament in 1992.[1] The 2020 tournament took place at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales between 10 and 16 February, the 29th edition of the event.[2][3][4] It was the twelfth World Snooker Tour ranking competition in the 2019–20 snooker season, following the World Grand Prix and preceding the Snooker Shoot Out.[3] It was the fourth and final event of the Home Nations Series, and featured 128 participants from the World Snooker Tour.[5]

The defending Welsh Open champion from 2019 was Neil Robertson who won the final with a 9–7 victory over Stuart Bingham.[6] All matches were best-of-seven frames until the quarter-finals, which were the best-of-nine, the semi-finals the best-of-eleven.[5] The final was played over two sessions, as the best-of-17 frames.[5] The event was sponsored by sports betting company BetVictor, and broadcast locally by BBC Cymru Wales; Quest; Eurosport in Europe and Australia; CCTV, Superstars Online, Youku and Zhibo.tv in China; True sport in Thailand; Sky Sports in New Zealand and DAZN in Canada.[7] A single qualifying match was played between two local amateur players – Darren Morgan and Gavin Lewis.[8]

Prize fund

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The event's total prize fund is £405,000, with the winner receiving £70,000. The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:[9][10]

  • Winner: £70,000
  • Runner-up: £30,000
  • Semi-final: £20,000
  • Quarter-final: £10,000
  • Last 16: £7,500
  • Last 32: £4,000
  • Last 64: £3,000
  • Highest break: £5,000
  • Total: £405,000

Summary

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Kyren Wilson made a maximum break in his first round match, and reached the final of the event.

The opening round was played on 10 and 11 February.[11] Local amateur Darren Morgan completed a 4–0 win over fellow Welsh amateur Gavin Lewis, but lost to Shaun Murphy 0–4 in the opening round.[8] Ashley Carty defeated Joe Perry, 4–3 after a break of 66 in the deciding frame.[12] Soheil Vahedi defeated 20th seed Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4–2, whilst 12th seed David Gilbert was beaten by Matthew Stevens 2–4.[8] Kyren Wilson defeated Jackson Page 4–3, and made a maximum break in the opening frame, the second of his career.[13][14]

The next three rounds were played on 12 and 13 February.[11] After defeating Jamie Clarke in the first round, defending champion Neil Robertson defeated Mark Joyce, Noppon Saengkham and completed a whitewash over Gerard Greene to reach the quarter-finals.[8] Wilson defeated Liam Highfield, Martin O'Donnell and ninth seed Ding Junhui to play Robertson, which he won 5–0.[15] Mark Selby defeated David Grace, Chen Zifan, Andy Lee and Zhao Xintong to play Ronnie O'Sullivan in the quarter-finals, with O'Sullivan winning 5–1.[16][17]

Seeded 19, Yan Bingtao defeated Michael Holt, Mitchell Mann, Stuart Bingham and Anthony McGill to reach the quarter-finals, who had defeated Luca Brecel 4–3 in the last 16.[8] Yan defeated Higgins 5–2, where Higgins described his performance as "pathetic".[17][18] Murphy defeated Alfie Burden in the second round 4–3, before beating Ben Woollaston and Dominic Dale 4–1.[8] He met Judd Trump, the world number one, who had defeated James Cahill, Billy Joe Castle, Igor Figueiredo and Stephen Maguire in the quarter-final and won 5–3.[19] Wilson defeated O'Sullivan in the first semi-final on a deciding frame 6–5, whilst Murphy overcame Yan by the same scoreline.[20]

 
Shaun Murphy won the event, with a 9–1 win over Kyren Wilson.

The final was played between eighth seed Kyren Wilson and tenth seed Shaun Murphy on 16 February.[8] The final was played over two sessions as a best-of-17 frames match.[8] Murphy won the opening frame with a break of 108, and made a second century break, a 134, in frame eight as he won seven of the opening session frames to lead 7–1.[21] Wilson won only frame seven during the opening session.[22] On the resumption of the match, Murphy fluked a red ball to win frame nine and took frame ten with a third century break to finish a 9–1 victory.[21] This was Murphy's second championship victory of the season, having also won the 2019 China Championship 9–8 over Mark Williams.[22]

Tournament draw

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The results from the event is shown below. Players in bold denote match winners, whilst numbers in brackets are player's seedings.[8]

Qualifying round

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  Darren Morgan (WAL) 4–0   Gavin Lewis (WAL)

Main draw

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Section 1

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Last 128
Best of 7 frames
Last 64
Best of 7 frames
Last 32
Best of 7 frames
Last 16
Best of 7 frames
 
              
 
 
 
 
  Neil Robertson (AUS) (1)4
 
 
 
  Jamie Clarke (WAL)2
 
  Neil Robertson (1)4
 
 
 
  Mark Joyce2
 
  Fergal O'Brien (IRL)3
 
 
 
  Mark Joyce (ENG)4
 
  Neil Robertson (1)4
 
 
 
  Noppon Saengkham (32)3
 
  Noppon Saengkham (THA) (32)4
 
 
 
  Alan McManus (SCO)3
 
  Noppon Saengkham (32)4
 
 
 
  Alexander Ursenbacher1
 
  Hammad Miah (ENG)2
 
 
 
  Alexander Ursenbacher (SUI)4
 
  Neil Robertson (1)4
 
 
 
  Gerard Greene0
 
  Ali Carter (ENG) (16)4
 
 
 
  Adam Stefanow (POL)2
 
  Ali Carter (16)0
 
 
 
  Gerard Greene4
 
  Gerard Greene (NIR)4
 
 
 
  Liang Wenbo (CHN)2
 
  Gerard Greene4
 
 
 
  Daniel Wells2
 
  Joe Perry (ENG) (17)3
 
 
 
  Ashley Carty (ENG)4
 
  Ashley Carty2
 
 
 
  Daniel Wells4
 
  Daniel Wells (WAL)4
 
 
  Barry Pinches (ENG)2
 

Section 2

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Last 128
Best of 7 frames
Last 64
Best of 7 frames
Last 32
Best of 7 frames
Last 16
Best of 7 frames
 
              
 
 
 
 
  Yuan Sijun (CHN)4
 
 
 
  Thor Chuan Leong (MAS)0
 
  Yuan Sijun2
 
 
 
  Jimmy Robertson (24)4
 
  Jimmy Robertson (ENG) (24)4
 
 
 
  Riley Parsons (ENG)0
 
  Jimmy Robertson (24)1
 
 
 
  Ding Junhui (9)4
 
  Nigel Bond (ENG)0
 
 
 
  Ricky Walden (ENG)4
 
  Ricky Walden1
 
 
 
  Ding Junhui (9)4
 
  Ding Junhui (CHN) (9)4
 
 
 
  Marco Fu (HKG)2
 
  Ding Junhui (9)2
 
 
 
  Kyren Wilson (8)4
 
  Martin O'Donnell (ENG)4
 
 
 
  Andy Hicks (ENG)0
 
  Martin O'Donnell4
 
 
 
  Tom Ford (25)0
 
  Tom Ford (ENG) (25)4
 
 
 
  Xu Si (CHN)3
 
  Martin O'Donnell0
 
 
 
  Kyren Wilson (8)4
 
  Zhang Anda (CHN)3
 
 
 
  Liam Highfield (ENG)4
 
  Liam Highfield2
 
 
 
  Kyren Wilson (8)4
 
  Kyren Wilson (ENG) (8)4
 
 
  Jackson Page (WAL)3
 

Section 3

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Last 128
Best of 7 frames
Last 64
Best of 7 frames
Last 32
Best of 7 frames
Last 16
Best of 7 frames
 
              
 
 
 
 
  Mark Selby (ENG) (5)4
 
 
 
  David Grace (ENG)2
 
  Mark Selby (5)4
 
 
 
  Chen Zifan1
 
  Kurt Maflin (NOR)3
 
 
 
  Chen Zifan (CHN)4
 
  Mark Selby (5)4
 
 
 
  Andy Lee2
 
  Matthew Selt (ENG) (28)2
 
 
 
  Andy Lee (HKG)4
 
  Andy Lee4
 
 
 
  Robbie Williams3
 
  Robbie Williams (ENG)4
 
 
 
  Chris Wakelin (ENG)1
 
  Mark Selby (5)4
 
 
 
  Zhao Xintong3
 
  David Gilbert (ENG) (12)2
 
 
 
  Matthew Stevens (WAL)4
 
  Matthew Stevens4
 
 
 
  Brandon Sargeant0
 
  Brandon Sargeant (ENG)w/o
 
 
 
  Peter Ebdon (ENG)w/d
 
  Matthew Stevens1
 
 
 
  Zhao Xintong4
 
  Graeme Dott (SCO) (21)0
 
 
 
  Zhao Xintong (CHN)4
 
  Zhao Xintong4
 
 
 
  Louis Heathcote2
 
  Lu Ning (CHN)3
 
 
  Louis Heathcote (ENG)4
 

Section 4

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Last 128
Best of 7 frames
Last 64
Best of 7 frames
Last 32
Best of 7 frames
Last 16
Best of 7 frames
 
              
 
 
 
 
  Si Jiahui (CHN)4
 
 
 
  Lei Peifan (CHN)1
 
  Si Jiahui2
 
 
 
  Soheil Vahedi4
 
  Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (THA) (20)2
 
 
 
  Soheil Vahedi (IRN)4
 
  Soheil Vahedi4
 
 
 
  Jack Lisowski (13)0
 
  Lee Walker (WAL)2
 
 
 
  John Astley (ENG)4
 
  John Astley3
 
 
 
  Jack Lisowski (13)4
 
  Jack Lisowski (ENG) (13)4
 
 
 
  Li Hang (CHN)2
 
  Soheil Vahedi0
 
 
 
  Ronnie O'Sullivan (4)4
 
  Anthony Hamilton (ENG)4
 
 
 
  Michael White (WAL)3
 
  Anthony Hamilton4
 
 
 
  Lyu Haotian (29)3
 
  Lyu Haotian (CHN) (29)4
 
 
 
  Kishan Hirani (WAL)0
 
  Anthony Hamilton2
 
 
 
  Ronnie O'Sullivan (4)4
 
  Stuart Carrington (ENG)4
 
 
 
  Mike Dunn (ENG)3
 
  Stuart Carrington2
 
 
 
  Ronnie O'Sullivan (4)4
 
  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) (4)4
 
 
  Zhang Jiankang (CHN)1
 

Section 5

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Last 128
Best of 7 frames
Last 64
Best of 7 frames
Last 32
Best of 7 frames
Last 16
Best of 7 frames
 
              
 
 
 
 
  Mark Williams (WAL) (3)4
 
 
 
  Oliver Lines (ENG)1
 
  Mark Williams (3)4
 
 
 
  Jordan Brown2
 
  Jordan Brown (NIR)4
 
 
 
  Alex Borg (MLT)1
 
  Mark Williams (3)1
 
 
 
  Anthony McGill (30)4
 
  Anthony McGill (SCO) (30)4
 
 
 
  Duane Jones (WAL)1
 
  Anthony McGill (30)4
 
 
 
  Mei Xiwen1
 
  Mei Xiwen (CHN)4
 
 
 
  Michael Georgiou (CYP)2
 
  Anthony McGill (30)3
 
 
 
  Yan Bingtao (19)4
 
  Stuart Bingham (ENG) (14)4
 
 
 
  Martin Gould (ENG)2
 
  Stuart Bingham (14)4
 
 
 
  Chen Feilong1
 
  Chen Feilong (CHN)4
 
 
 
  Sam Baird (ENG)3
 
  Stuart Bingham (14)3
 
 
 
  Yan Bingtao (19)4
 
  Yan Bingtao (CHN) (19)4
 
 
 
  Michael Holt (ENG)0
 
  Yan Bingtao (19)4
 
 
 
  Mitchell Mann0
 
  Mitchell Mann (ENG)4
 
 
  Bai Langning (CHN)1
 

Section 6

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Last 128
Best of 7 frames
Last 64
Best of 7 frames
Last 32
Best of 7 frames
Last 16
Best of 7 frames
 
              
 
 
 
 
  Luca Brecel (BEL)4
 
 
 
  Kacper Filipiak (POL)1
 
  Luca Brecel4
 
 
 
  Scott Donaldson (22)2
 
  Scott Donaldson (SCO) (22)4
 
 
 
  Sunny Akani (THA)1
 
  Luca Brecel4
 
 
 
  Tian Pengfei3
 
  Tian Pengfei (CHN)4
 
 
 
  Jamie O'Neill (ENG)2
 
  Tian Pengfei4
 
 
 
  Barry Hawkins (11)0
 
  Barry Hawkins (ENG) (11)4
 
 
 
  Sam Craigie (ENG)2
 
  Luca Brecel3
 
 
 
  John Higgins (6)4
 
  Peter Lines (ENG)1
 
 
 
  Fan Zhengyi (CHN)4
 
  Fan Zhengyi0
 
 
 
  Xiao Guodong (27)4
 
  Xiao Guodong (CHN) (27)4
 
 
 
  Fraser Patrick (SCO)1
 
  Xiao Guodong (27)2
 
 
 
  John Higgins (6)4
 
  Mark King (ENG)1
 
 
 
  Ken Doherty (IRL)4
 
  Ken Doherty1
 
 
 
  John Higgins (6)4
 
  John Higgins (SCO) (6)4
 
 
  Joe O'Connor (ENG)1
 

Section 7

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Last 128
Best of 7 frames
Last 64
Best of 7 frames
Last 32
Best of 7 frames
Last 16
Best of 7 frames
 
              
 
 
 
 
  Mark Allen (NIR) (7)4
 
 
 
  Andrew Higginson (ENG)1
 
  Mark Allen (7)4
 
 
 
  James Wattana0
 
  James Wattana (THA)4
 
 
 
  Jimmy White (ENG)2
 
  Mark Allen (7)2
 
 
 
  Dominic Dale4
 
  Ryan Day (WAL) (26)1
 
 
 
  Simon Lichtenberg (GER)4
 
  Simon Lichtenberg2
 
 
 
  Dominic Dale4
 
  David Lilley (ENG)0
 
 
 
  Dominic Dale (WAL)4
 
  Dominic Dale1
 
 
 
  Shaun Murphy (10)4
 
  Shaun Murphy (ENG) (10)4
 
 
 
  Darren Morgan (WAL)0
 
  Shaun Murphy (10)4
 
 
 
  Alfie Burden3
 
  Alfie Burden (ENG)4
 
 
 
  Amine Amiri (MAR)0
 
  Shaun Murphy (10)4
 
 
 
  Ben Woollaston1
 
  Zhou Yuelong (CHN) (23)1
 
 
 
  Elliot Slessor (ENG)4
 
  Elliot Slessor2
 
 
 
  Ben Woollaston4
 
  Eden Sharav (ISR)1
 
 
  Ben Woollaston (ENG)4
 

Section 8

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Last 128
Best of 7 frames
Last 64
Best of 7 frames
Last 32
Best of 7 frames
Last 16
Best of 7 frames
 
              
 
 
 
 
  Jak Jones (WAL)0
 
 
 
  Robert Milkins (ENG)4
 
  Robert Milkins4
 
 
 
  Gary Wilson (18)1
 
  Gary Wilson (ENG) (18)4
 
 
 
  Chang Bingyu (CHN)1
 
  Robert Milkins3
 
 
 
  Stephen Maguire (15)4
 
  Ian Burns (ENG)4
 
 
 
  Harvey Chandler (ENG)1
 
  Ian Burns3
 
 
 
  Stephen Maguire (15)4
 
  Stephen Maguire (SCO) (15)4
 
 
 
  Rod Lawler (ENG)2
 
  Stephen Maguire (15)1
 
 
 
  Judd Trump (2)4
 
  Hossein Vafaei (IRN)1
 
 
 
  Igor Figueiredo (BRA)4
 
  Igor Figueiredo4
 
 
 
  Mark Davis (31)3
 
  Mark Davis (ENG) (31)4
 
 
 
  Luo Honghao (CHN)1
 
  Igor Figueiredo1
 
 
 
  Judd Trump (2)4
 
  Craig Steadman (ENG)2
 
 
 
  Billy Joe Castle (ENG)4
 
  Billy Joe Castle0
 
 
 
  Judd Trump (2)4
 
  Judd Trump (ENG) (2)4
 
 
  James Cahill (ENG)1
 

Finals

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Quarter-finals
Best of 9 frames
Semi-finals
Best of 11 frames
Final
Best of 17 frames
 
          
 
 
 
 
  Neil Robertson (1)0
 
 
 
  Kyren Wilson (8)5
 
  Kyren Wilson (8)6
 
 
 
  Ronnie O'Sullivan (4)5
 
  Mark Selby (5)1
 
 
 
  Ronnie O'Sullivan (4)5
 
  Kyren Wilson (8)1
 
 
 
  Shaun Murphy (10)9
 
  Yan Bingtao (19)5
 
 
 
  John Higgins (6)2
 
  Yan Bingtao (19)5
 
 
 
  Shaun Murphy (10)6
 
  Shaun Murphy (10)5
 
 
  Judd Trump (2)3
 

Final

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Final: Best of 17 frames. Referee: Colin Humphries
Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, Wales, 16 February 2020
Kyren Wilson (8)
  England
1–9 Shaun Murphy (10)
  England
Afternoon: 8–108 (108), 4–97, 52–68, 45–89, 64–66, 0–78, 74–31, 0–134 (134)
Evening: 0–102 (102), 56–73
64 Highest break 134
0 Century breaks 3

Century breaks

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The event had a total of 77 century breaks made during the event, the highest being a maximum break of 147 by Kyren Wilson in the second frame of his first round match.[23]

References

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  1. ^ Turner, Chris. "Welsh Open". cajt.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk. Chris Turner's Snooker Archive. Archived from the original on 16 February 2012. Retrieved 1 March 2011.
  2. ^ "BetVictor Welsh Open". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 10 January 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2021.
  3. ^ a b Årdalen, Hermund. "Calendar 2019/2020 - snooker.org". snooker.org (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 29 December 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  4. ^ "Welsh Open Snooker 2020: Draw, schedule, betting odds, results & TV coverage". sportinglife.com. 16 February 2020. Archived from the original on 2 December 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "Welsh Open snooker: Draw, schedule and results for Home Nations event". sportinglife.com. 21 February 2021. Archived from the original on 22 March 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Welsh Open: Neil Robertson beats Stuart Bingham in final". BBC Sport. 17 February 2019. Archived from the original on 3 May 2021. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  7. ^ "Tournament Broadcasters 2019–20 – World Snooker". World Snooker. 28 June 2019. Archived from the original on 13 January 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Årdalen, Hermund. "ManBetX Welsh Open (2020) - snooker.org". snooker.org. Archived from the original on 29 August 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  9. ^ "Welsh Open 2020". snooker.org. 10 February 2020. Archived from the original on 12 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  10. ^ "2019–2020 Season Summary" (PDF). World Snooker. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 July 2019. Retrieved 2 August 2019.
  11. ^ a b Årdalen, Hermund. "Results (Welsh Open 2020) - snooker.org". snooker.org (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  12. ^ "Match Result | World Snooker Live Scores". livescores.worldsnookerdata.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  13. ^ "Welsh Open: Kyren Wilson makes 147 in narrow win over Jackson Page". BBC Sport. 11 February 2020. Archived from the original on 26 March 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  14. ^ "Match Result | World Snooker Live Scores". livescores.worldsnookerdata.com. Archived from the original on 13 February 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Snooker news – Neil Robertson reveals mental exhaustion behind defeat to Kyren Wilson". Eurosport UK. 14 February 2020. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  16. ^ Koylu, Enis (14 February 2020). "Snooker news – Ronnie O'Sullivan demolishes Mark Selby to reach Welsh Open semi-finals". Eurosport UK. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  17. ^ a b "O'Sullivan into Welsh Open semi-finals". BBC Sport. 14 February 2020. Archived from the original on 29 March 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  18. ^ "Higgins laments 'pathetic' performance after Welsh Open defeat". Times Series. 15 February 2021. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  19. ^ "Snooker news – Shaun Murphy upsets Judd Trump to reach last four at Welsh Open". Eurosport UK. 14 February 2020. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  20. ^ "Wilson & Murphy to meet in Welsh Open final". BBC Sport. 15 February 2020. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  21. ^ a b Mann, Richard (16 February 2020). "Welsh Open Snooker final report and reaction: Shaun Murphy beats Kyren Wilson 9–1". sportinglife.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  22. ^ a b "Murphy beats Wilson to win Welsh Open". BBC Sport. 16 February 2020. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2021.
  23. ^ "19.com Welsh Open 2020 | Centuries". World Snooker. 10–16 February 2020. Archived from the original on 8 February 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2020.