World Championship Qualifiers Reaching Finale
Judgement Day is fast approaching this week at the World Championship qualifiers at the English Institute of Sport as the event reaches its final couple of days before fans will know which 16 have qualified for this year’s Betfred World Championship at the Crucible in Sheffield.
The drama is unfolding nicely as we know for sure that one lucky amateur is guaranteed to walk out at the iconic venue next Saturday for the first time.
That lucky amateur will be either Michael Judge or Stephen Hendry’s nephew James Cahill, as they will play each other in the final qualifying round for a place in the last 32, or what some call the ‘first-round proper’.
Irishman Judge, 44, according to research, actually holds the record for the number of times he’s failed to qualify by reaching the final qualifying round. Hopefully, the former professional, who’s appeared at the Crucible three times, can get a fourth walkout at the Crucible this time around. Cahill, 23, also a former pro, has had a season where in the UK Championship this season as an amateur, he beat former World number one Mark Selby in the first round!
No Ordinary Joe…
2018 English Amateur Champion Joe O’Connor, who’s in his first year as a pro, has made it through to the final qualifying round at the EIS but faces a tough test in the Shootout Champion Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. If O’Connor makes it onto the big stage at the Crucible, it will have been a good season for the 23-year-old debut pro potter from Leicester, who reached a semi-final of a ranking event earlier this season in the Welsh Open.
Women Ng On Yee and Reanne Evans didn’t make it past their first-round meetings, but Hong Kong’s On Yee put up a good fight against the former World Championship semi-finalist Alan McManus losing 10 – 6.
The event continues until Wednesday 17th April…The main event begins on Saturday the 20th April where the 16 qualifiers will have known their fate of which top 16 players they will be playing in the first round proper.
Follow the action on the Eurosport player or watch live scores here...
