Complete results as the German Masters qualifications conclude

Complete results as the German Masters qualifications conclude

The German Masters qualifiers have concluded, bringing the World Snooker Tour to a close in 2023.

This year’s final round of competition was held this week at Sheffield’s Ponds Forge International Sports Centre.

The qualifying phase for the German Masters has been shortened from two rounds to one this season due to a change in the structure.

The top eight seeds’ round-of-128 matches have been moved to the venue stages to ensure their participation at the Tempodrom.

It comes after multiple editions of the famous ranking event in which too many headline names failed to show up in Berlin, infuriating promoters and local fans.

Ronnie O’Sullivan, Luca Brecel, Judd Trump, and Mark Allen are all expected to compete when the tournament officially begins at the end of January.

Preliminary matches for Mark Selby, Shaun Murphy, Neil Robertson, and defending champion Ali Carter were all postponed.

Former winners Mark Williams and Kyren Wilson were among those who required good results this week to keep their spots in the German Masters.

Williams, the 2011 and 2018 champion, defeated David Grace 5-3, while Wilson defeated Oliver Lines by the same score.

Martin Gould, the 2016 champion who is currently in the heat of battle to secure his tour survival having dropped way down the rankings, also progressed with a 5-4 defeat of James Cahill.

But Ding Junhui and Anthony Hamilton, winners in 2014 and 2017, bowed out with respective reverses against Yuan Sijun and Ben Woollaston.

Last week’s Scottish Open champion Gary Wilson was sent crashing back down to earth with a 5-4 defeat to Scott Donaldson.

Former German Masters runner-up Jack Lisowski and 2015 world champion Stuart Bingham were other notable names to experience disappointing results, losing to Zak Surety and Liam Pullen respectively.

On a busy week of action, the likes of John Higgins, Barry Hawkins, Zhang Anda, and Robert Milkins all progressed.

Top 16-chasing trio Hossein Vafaei, Tom Ford, and Zhou Yuelong advanced in addition to tour veterans Stephen Maguire, Matthew Stevens, and Joe Perry.

Arguably the most impressive victory came from Si Jiahui – the World Championship semi-finalist overturning a 4-0 deficit to sensationally deny Lyu Haotian in a decider.

Si Jiahui, a World Championship semi-finalist, overcame a 4-0 deficit to deny Lyu Haotian in a decider, arguably the most stunning triumph.

Jimmy White, who became the first 60-year-old to reach the final 16 of a ranking event in more than 30 years at last season’s German Masters, was defeated 5-2 by Pang Junxu.

Ken Doherty, on the other hand, had better luck, easily defeating Jenson Kendrick with a whitewash performance.

The German Masters will be held from January 29 to February 4, 2019.