China Open Update: Bingham in Maximum Heaven for Fifth Time
2015 World Champion Stuart Bingham has racked a fifth career maximum and the 12th 147 of the season at the Xingpai China Open in Beijing.
The 36 perfect pots of 15 reds, 15 blacks and the six colours means the “ballrun” will pocket a tidy £27K by close of the event should no one else rack one too.
That means there’s just one more 147 needed to equal the most 147s made in one season – 13.
Bingham and Neil Robertson are two of the top players still left in the £225K first prize event as we near the final stages of the event where the final will be played on a best of 21 format.
It’s the last event before the Crucible and the 16 lucky players will know by close of play whether they are guaranteed to be appearing at snooker’s flagship event the World Championships in just over two weeks or so time.
The rest will have to slog it out at the English Institute of Sport just miles down the road from the iconic venue and 16 from 128 or so players from three rounds of best of 19s will be the qualifiers to play the top 16 seeded players at the Crucible.
Hopefuls such as Sam Craigie, 25, whose best finish was a last 16 place in the Northern Irish Open has now made it through to the last 8 in a major ranking event He will now play the Thunder from Down Under Robertson in China.
