Zhang Anda will return to Brentwood next week hoping to go one better than his run to the final of the English Open in 2023.
The Chinese competitor, who had for years languished in the lower half of the world rankings list, stunned many with a breakthrough week at the Brentwood Leisure Centre.
Zhang counted Ronnie O’Sullivan among his conquests as he reached the title-deciding affair, where he was narrowly edged out to glory by Judd Trump.
The former IBSF World Under-21 Championship runner-up had led the showdown 7-3, compiling breaks of 128 and 109 in the process.
But the enormity of the occasion ultimately caught up with Zhang, and Trump responded by winning the last six frames to seal his second English Open triumph.
Some people thought that Zhang’s impressive performance that week would be a flash in the pan, but the 32 year-old proceeded to capture the International Championship title just a month later.
His displays in that tournament were even more impressive, beating Chinese legend Ding Junhui in the quarter-finals before outplaying O’Sullivan again over two session in the semi-finals.
Zhang then compiled a remarkable 147 break in the final against Tom Ford, eventually running out a 10-6 champion in Tianjin.
“I have regrets,” Zhang Anda told the World Snooker Tour when talking about his near miss at the English Open. “But it also gave me a lot of motivation.”
“The regret is that I felt that it was my first final and I needed to perform well, because I didn’t know what my future will be like.
“I didn’t know I would win the championship in Tianjin, I didn’t know I could make the finals of the Players Championship.
“I couldn’t have anticipated any of this at that moment. There is no doubt that I wanted to win the English Open very much at that moment.
“But when I think back to that final now, I did have a lot of shortcomings. Because it was my first time, I didn’t handle many things well.
“But Trump can quickly adjust his performance to be the best. This is exactly what we need to learn from the top eight. This is important.”
The earnings in those two ranking events helped Zhang join the top 16 in the world rankings for the first time in his career, having spent most of it outside the top 64.
It also helped him qualify for prestigious tournaments like the Players Championship, where he reached the final, and the Tour Championship.
“The main thing is to play the game with a normal mind,” Zhang Anda continued when asked about what was required to elevate his level.
“I think some Chinese players, in the first few rounds of tournaments, are in good shape. But it’s hard to keep it up until the quarter-final or semi-final.
“If you want to win an event, you have to keep a calm mindset and maintain a good athletic condition during the week.
“My feeling right now is that the mindset is really important, but it’s also not to be too excited or too calm.
“Stay in a normal mood that balances game and life. When I was at the International Championship, I treated the game like a job.
“Legendary snooker players like Trump and [Mark] Williams, they all face their matches and tournaments with a normal mind.”
Zhang, currently ranked number 12, reached the last 16 of the recent Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters where he was narrowly denied by a familiar foe in O’Sullivan.
Next up is a return to the scene where his dramatic upsurge in form began, with Zhang seeded through to the last 64 of the 2024 English Open.
The campaign’s fourth ranking event commenced on Thursday with the round of 128 seeing the bottom 64 seeds in action.
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English Open draw and other info
Among the players to make it through their initial hurdle was former Shoot Out champion Michael Holt, while Mink Nutcharut beat Reanne Evans in the first ever professional match between two women players.
Thursday’s English Open Results
Ashley Carty 4-2 Anton Kazakov
Reanne Evans 2-4 Mink Nutcharut
Liam Pullen 4-0 Antoni Kowalski
Rory Thor 3-4 Oliver Lines
Ben Mertens 1-4 Chris Totten
Ian Burns 4-3 Haydon Pinhey
Zak Surety 4-2 Farakh Ajaib
Alfie Burden 1-4 Dylan Emery
Ma Hailong 3-4 Lei Peifan
Artemijs Zizins 4-2 Duane Jones
Jiang Jun 4-0 Ahmed Aly Elsayed
Andrew Pagett 4-2 Kreishh Gurbaxani
Dean Young 4-0 Bai Yulu
Ishpreet Singh Chadha 4-1 Simon Blackwell
Bulcsú Révész 4-0 Manasawin Phetmalaikul
Stuart Carrington 0-4 Wang Yuchen
Long Zehuang 4-0 Lim Kok Leong
Amir Sarkhosh 1-4 Liam Davies
Andrew Higginson 4-0 Mark Joyce
Gong Chenzhi 3-4 Michael Holt
Friday’s English Open schedule
(Round of 128)
9am UTC+1
Jimmy White vs Joshua Cooper
Xing Zihan vs Paul Deaville
Julien Leclercq vs Oliver Sykes
Louis Heathcote vs Iulian Boiko
11:30am UTC+1
Hammad Miah vs Huang Jiahao
Mostafa Dorgham vs Allan Taylor
Liam Graham vs Joshua Thomand
Stan Moody vs Cheung Ka Wai
2pm UTC+1
Alexander Ursenbacher vs Mohammed Shehab
Robbie McGuigan vs Mitchell Mann
Marco Fu vs Haris Tahir
(Round of 96)
4:30pm UTC+1
Liu Hongyu vs Ashley Carty
Fan Zhengyi vs Liam Pullen
Scott Donaldson vs Oliver Lines
Wu Yize vs Chris Totten
7pm UTC+1
Martin O’Donnell vs Ian Burns
Elliot Slessor vs Zak Surety
Ben Woollaston vs Dylan Emery
Aaron Hill vs Lei Peifan
Click here to view the full English Open draw and updated results.
Featured photo credit: WST
