Liam Pullen – ‘The target is the Crucible’

Liam Pullen is hoping to end his rookie season as a professional in style by qualifying for the World Snooker Championship.

The 18 year-old, who reached the last 32 of the International Championship in Tianjin last November, beat Anton Kazakov 10-3 in the first round of the World Championship qualifiers on Wednesday.

Pullen, last year’s WSF Junior Open runner-up, made six half-century contributions to comprehensively beat his Ukrainian opponent at the English Institute of Sport.

In the next round, the Englishman will face friend Sanderson Lam in a repeat of their showdown at the World Championship qualifiers in 2023.

“I’m very pleased in the end,” world number 98 Liam Pullen told the World Snooker Tour.

“I was a bit annoyed with how I finished off – a bit nervy. But overall, I think I played pretty good.”

“When it goes more scrappy, it makes the shots a lot more important. In the Worlds, it’s such big money and ranking points more importantly for me at the moment.

“I think I’m going in the right direction. I’ve obviously not done as well as I would have liked [this season], but that’s a snooker player I guess.

“The moment in Tianjin was probably the best, but I think since then I’ve had a couple of good runs.

“I lost to some good players in the last half of the season, and obviously if you don’t have a good start in the qualifiers at the start of the season, it gets tough towards the end.

“With me and Sanderson, he beat me last year. There were no hard feelings from my side. Sanderson’s the type of person who wouldn’t hold a grudge if I won, or if he won again.

“It’s obviously not ideal, I’d rather play someone else. But it is what it is, isn’t it?

“The target is the Crucible, for anyone really. It’s tough, you just want to keep on playing, and now I’ve won my first game, I can try and get into the competition.

“I can see if I can play some good stuff, which is the aim.”

Elsewhere on day three, there were big victories for Alfie Burden and Ashley Carty – the English duo beating Rebecca Kenna and Liam Graham respectively.

Gao Yang and Peter Lines defied their amateur statuses to inflict 10-6 defeats on Ishpreet Singh Chadha and Mohamed Ibrahim.

Mohammed Shehab, who will become a professional next season after his promotion from the Q Tour, also advanced thanks to a 10-6 win over Stan Moody.

Peng Yisong progressed to the second round with a 10-5 triumph over Manasawin Phetmalaikul, while Rod Lawler outlasted Gong Chenzhi 10-7.

Jimmy White, meanwhile, has his work cut out for him if he’s to maintain his aspirations of reaching the Crucible for the first time since 2006.

The Whirlwind trails Liu Hongyu 7-2 after their opening session, with the match among several to resume on Thursday.

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World Snooker Championship qualifiers draw

All matches are the best of 19 frames played across two sessions.
Scorelines in italics indicate the end of the first session.

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Qualifier 1

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
1	Jimmy White w/o Martin Gould	Jimmy White 3-10 Liu Hongyu	Liu Hongyu 4-10 Jack Lisowski
				Jack Lisowski 10-3 Matthew Stevens
2	Ryan Thomerson 3-10 Liam Davies	Liam Davies 2-10 Jimmy Robertson	Jimmy Robertson 6-10 Matthew Stevens

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Qualifier 2

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
3	Ian Burns 10-1 Dean Young	Ian Burns 10-7 Mark Joyce	Ian Burns 7-10 Ricky Walden
				Ricky Walden 10-9 Mark Davis
4	Andy Lee 9-10 Andrew Pagett	Andrew Pagett 2-10 Mark Davis	Mark Davis 10-8 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

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Qualifier 3

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
5	Rory Thor 10-2 Hamza Ilyas	Rory Thor 8-10 David Grace	David Grace 6-10 Dominic Dale
				Dominic Dale 10-8 He Guoqiang
6	Ross Muir 10-9 Cheung Ka Wai	Ross Muir 8-10 He Guoqiang	He Guoqiang 10-5 Anthony McGill

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Qualifier 4

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
7	Alfie Burden 10-1 Rebecca Kenna	Alfie Burden 10-3 Xu Si	Alfie Burden 5-10 Jamie Jones
				Jamie Jones 10-9 Neil Robertson
8	Ishpreet Singh Chadha 6-10 Gao Yang	Gao Yang 6-10 Zak Surety	Zac Surety 2-10 Neil Robertson

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Qualifier 5

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
9	Sean O’Sullivan 8-10 Bulscu Revesz	Bulscu Revesz 8-10 James Cahill	James Cahill 0-10 Zhou Yuelong
				Zhou Yuelong 4-10 Jak Jones
10	Andres Petrov 10-1 Ahmed Elsayed	Andres Petrov 7-10 Jamie Clarke	Jamie Clarke 6-10 Jak Jones

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Qualifier 6

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
11	Adam Duffy 10-5 Mink Nutcharut	Adam Duffy 4-10 Ashley Hugill	Ashley Hugill 7-10 Stephen Maguire
				Stephen Maguire 10-6 Yuan Sijun
12	Andrew Higginson 10-7 Duane Jones	Andrew Higginson 8-10 Michael White	Michael White 8-10 Yuan Sijun

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Qualifier 7

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
13	Louis Heathcote 10-4 Oliver Sykes	Louis Heathcote 10-7 Oliver Lines	Louis Heathcote 10-8 Elliot Slessor
				Louis Heathcote 8-10 Stuart Bingham
14	Stuart Carrington 10-5 Himanshu Jain	Stuart Carrington 10-9 Liam Highfield	Stuart Carrington 9-10 Stuart Bingham

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Qualifier 8

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
15	Alexander Ursenbacher 10-0 Iulian Boiko	Alexander Ursenbacher 7-10 Anthony Hamilton	Anthony Hamilton 5-10 Robbie Williams
				Robbie Williams 10-9 Chris Wakelin
16	Allan Taylor 10-6 Vladislav Gradinari	Allan Taylor 9-10 Lukas Kleckers	Lukas Kleckers 5-10 Chris Wakelin

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Qualifier 9

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
17	Marco Fu 10-1 Baipat Siripaporn	Marco Fu 10-6 Ken Doherty	Marco Fu 4-10 Hossein Vafaei
				Hossein Vafaei 10-5 Jiang Jun
18	Jiang Jun 10-6 Amir Sarkhosh	Jiang Jun 10-8 Fan Zhengyi	Jiang Jun 10-8 Sam Craigie

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Qualifier 10

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
19	Hammad Miah 2-10 Haydon Pinhey	Haydon Pinhey 3-10 Julien Leclercq	Julien Leclercq 1-10 Joe O’Connor
				Joe O’Connor 10-8 Matthew Selt
20	Daniel Womersley w/o Muhammad Asif	Daniel Womersley 3-10 Aaron Hill	Aaron Hill 4-10 Matthew Selt

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Qualifier 11

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
21	Ma Hailong 10-1 Victor Sarkis	Ma Hailong 10-7 Martin O’Donnell	Ma Hailong 4-10 Cao Yupeng
				Cao Yupeng 8-10 Pang Junxu
22	Oliver Brown 10-0 Reanne Evans	Oliver Brown 10-8 Dylan Emery	Oliver Brown 7-10 Pang Junxu

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Qualifier 12

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
23	Fergal O’Brien 8-10 Mostafa Dorgham	Mostafa Dorgham 5-10 Graeme Dott	Graeme Dott 5-10 Jackson Page
				Jackson Page 10-9 Noppon Saengkham
24	Long Zehuang 10-1 Sydney Wilson	Long Zehuang 2-10 Andy Hicks	Andy Hicks 5-10 Noppon Saengkham

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Qualifier 13

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
25	Rod Lawler 10-7 Gong Chenzhi	Rod Lawler 9-10 Ben Mertens	Ben Mertens 9-10 Si Jiahui
				Si Jiahui 10-4 Wu Yize
26	Stan Moody 6-10 Mohamed Shehab	Mohamed Shebab 8-10 Tian Pengfei	Tian Pengfei 8-10 Wu Yize

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Qualifier 14

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
27	Xing Zihao 10-6 Michael Holt	Xing Zihao 5-10 Daniel Wells	Daniel Wells 8-10 Lyu Haotian
				Lyu Haotian 10-7 Jenson Kendrick
28	Jenson Kendrick 10-7 Bai Yulu	Jenson Kendrick 10-8 Ben Woollaston	Jenson Kendrick 10-5 Jordan Brown

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Qualifier 15

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
29	Liam Pullen 10-3 Anton Kazakov	Liam Pullen 8-10 Sanderson Lam	Sanderson Lam 2-10 Xiao Guodong
				Xiao Guodong 6-10 David Gilbert
30	Peng Yisong 10-5 Manasawin Phetmalaikul	Peng Yisong 9-10 David Lilley	David Lilley 4-10 David Gilbert

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Qualifier 16

Route	R1	R2	R3	R4
31	Mohamed Ibrabim 6-10 Peter Lines	Peter Lines 6-10 Scott Donaldson	Scott Donaldson 10-6 Joe Perry
				Scott Donaldson 9-10 Ryan Day
32	Ashley Carty 10-4 Liam Graham	Ashley Carty 6-10 John Astley	John Astley 6-10 Ryan Day

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Featured photo credit: WSF