Steven Hallworth produced one of the results of the WST Classic so far with his 4-1 defeat of Ryan Day in Leicester on Friday.
The English amateur compiled breaks of 72 and 59 to knock out the reigning British Open champion in the opening round at the Morningside Arena.
“I didn’t know what to expect. I’m just trying to get into as many of these events as possible,” Steven Hallworth told the World Snooker Tour.
“I’m still practicing hard and playing okay in practice, but it’s never quite the same as when you get out there on the match table.”
“I’d almost forgotten to win in the end, I felt like I just fell over the line. I needed a little help from Ryan, but on the whole I think I did play quite well.
“In the first couple of frames I hit the ground running, let Ryan know that I was there, and that I wasn’t going to be walked over. I felt really good out there until the last frame, so I’m delighted.
“It’s difficult to know what to expect. Ryan’s had an incredible season, he’s well up there on the one-year list.
“He won the British Open at the start of the season as well, so I knew I was in for a tough match.
“I thought if I could turn up and play anywhere near to my best level, then I’ve got half a chance. Luckily, I turned up today.
“I dropped off the main tour last season and didn’t get through the Q School in the end – I finished number two on the order of merit.
“That’s why I’m invited to come and compete in these events, but aside from it I’m playing on the Q Tour. I just lost in the semi-finals of (the playoffs) a couple of weekends ago.
“I’m just trying to play as much as possible. The match practice – as much as I can get – is all going to help me in the run up to Q School, and hopefully I can go there and try and get through again.”
Hallworth will face Cao Yupeng for a place in the last 32 of the WST Classic, but aside from that the 27 year-old has also been enjoying some time in the commentary box lately.
“I enjoy it, I really do. It’s a lot easier than playing, that’s for sure – you never miss a ball when you’re sat in the box.
“It’s something I’ve always been keen on, I’ve never shied away from the media side of snooker, and I’d love to do more of it.
“It’s great to hear (positive reviews). I provide more of an insightful opinion on the game, I’m still playing so I can know exactly what the players are going through.
“I’m quite young as well still so it’s a bit more of a youthful side to it, so I just try and bring something a little bit different.
“If there’s more to come in the future, I’ll look forward to it.”
Elsewhere in the inaugural WST Classic, Haydon Pinhey stunned Luca Brecel 4-2 to end the Belgian Bullet’s hopes of qualifying for the upcoming Tour Championship in Hull.
Aside from that, most of the heavy hitters have made it through to the last 64 of the ranking event so far.
Ronnie O’Sullivan, Neil Robertson, Mark Williams, and Judd Trump are among the marquee names hoping to go deep this week and earn a late Tour Championship invitation.
The latter’s 4-1 defeat of David Lilley included his 900th career century – becoming just the third player to reach the milestone.
O’Sullivan beat Mohamed Ibrabim 4-2, Robertson overcame Luke Simmonds by the same scoreline, while Williams edged Sean O’Sullivan in a decider.
The likes of Mark Allen, Jack Lisowski, Barry Hawkins, and Stuart Bingham have also safely negotiated their initial hurdle, while legend Jimmy White continued his fine season with a 4-2 victory over Graeme Dott.
On Saturday, the first round continues with Mark Selby, John Higgins, Shaun Murphy, and Ding Junhui among the main contenders entering the fray.
Last 128
Quarter 1
Ronnie O’Sullivan 4-2 Mohamed Ibrahim
David Grace 4-1 Ryan Thomerson
Sam Craigie 2-4 Hammad Miah
Jamie Jones 4-2 Rory McLeod
Gary Wilson 4-0 Lei Peifan
Yuan Sijun 4-0 Andy Lee
Ryan Day 1-4 Steven Hallworth
Cao Yupeng 4-3 Craig Steadman
Jordan Brown 1-4 Allan Taylor
Jimmy Robertson 3-4 Lukas Kleckers
Elliot Slessor 4-0 Himanshu Jain
Luca Brecel 2-4 Haydon Pinhey
Liam Highfield v Marco Fu
Zhou Yuelong 4-3 Julien Leclercq
Jackson Page 4-3 Anton Kazakov
Mark Williams 4-3 Sean O’Sullivan
Quarter 2
Judd Trump 4-1 David Lilley
Wu Yize 4-1 Ashley Hugill
Joe Perry 4-0 Duane Jones
Graeme Dott 2-4 Jimmy White
Jack Lisowski 4-3 Louis Heathcote
Dominic Dale 2-4 Si Jiahui
Ricky Walden 1-4 Ben Mertens
Pang Junxu 4-2 Jenson Kendrick
Ben Woollaston 4-2 Dylan Emery
Hossein Vafaei 4-2 John Astley
Scott Donaldson 4-2 Zak Surety
Barry Hawkins 4-0 Barry Pinches
Lyu Haotian 4-1 Michael Judge
Joe O’Connor 4-1 Jamie O’Neill
Oliver Lines 4-0 Mitchell Mann
Neil Robertson 4-2 Luke Simmonds
Quarter 3
Mark Allen 4-0 Peter Lines
Mark Davis 4-2 Fergal O’Brien
Noppon Saengkham 4-3 Ian Burns
Fan Zhengyi 4-0 Andres Petrov
Stuart Bingham 4-0 Ng On Yee
Matthew Stevens 4-1 Victor Sarkis
Anthony McGill 4-0 Peng Yisong
Martin Gould 4-2 Andrew Higginson
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh vs Asjad Iqbal
Ding Junhui vs Xu Si
Mark King vs Muhammad Asif
Ali Carter vs Dechawat Poomjaeng
Anthony Hamilton vs Farakh Ajaib
Matthew Selt vs Michael Holt
Andy Hicks vs James Cahill
Shaun Murphy vs Oliver Brown
Quarter 4
Kyren Wilson 4-1 Dean Young
Stuart Carrington vs Adam Duffy
Chris Wakelin vs Reanne Evans
Tian Pengfei vs Alfie Burden
John Higgins vs Michael White
Mark Joyce vs Gerard Greene
Tom Ford vs Andrew Pagett
Jamie Clarke vs Rebecca Kenna
Jak Jones vs Sanderson Lam
David Gilbert vs Ian Martin
Robbie Williams vs Aaron Hill
Robert Milkins vs Mink Nutcharut
Stephen Maguire vs Alexander Ursenbacher
Xiao Guodong vs Daniel Wells
Zhang Anda vs Peter Devlin
Mark Selby vs Fraser Patrick
Where to watch the WST Classic
Other than China, Hong Kong, and Thailand, the WST Classic will be available to viewers around the world on Matchroom Live via a subscription.
Featured photo credit: WPBSA
