It’s two out of three in the Crucible race
Ding Junhui is the Six Red World Champion, but will he compete in the Crucible with 15 Reds?
The Duelbits Tour next week in Hull will be the final event before the top 16 Cazoo World Championships are confirmed. Ryan Day, Ding Junhui and Gary Wilson are fighting for the last two spots.
Top 14 in raceall the way to Stuart Bingham (note that Zhao Xingtong will not be among them as he cannot enter) are safe and will be at the Crucible in April.
Wilson would have been confident he would join them had he reached the finals of the WST Classic, but in the semi-finals he suffered an agonizing 5-4 loss to Pan Junxiu, which meant he missed out on a place in the top eight. an annual list and a trip to Hull. He is still 15th in the Crucible so he could be seeded for the first time in his career, but that depends on other results next week. Permutations:
Dean loses to Mark Allen on Monday: Wilson and Day go to the Crucible
Dean beats Allen, then Day loses to Mark Selby on Thursday: Wilson and Dean go to the Crucible
Dean makes it to the finals and Day defeats Selby: Day and Dean go to the Crucible
Dean and Day win their first match, then Ding loses in the semi-finals: Wilson and Day go to the Crucible.
Prize fund of the Duelbits Tour championship:
Winner: £150,000
Second place: £60,000
Semi-finals: £40,000
Quarter-finals: £20,000 (counted in rankings)
All players not in the top 16 will go to the qualification rounds of the Cazoo World Championship, which will be held from 3 to 12 April at the English Institute of Sports in Sheffield.
Selby won the WST Classic, his second ranking title of the season and 22nd of his career, taking him from eighth to third on the yearly list. He is one of eight players heading to Hull – click here for the draw and format.
He remains second in official biennial list but closes the gap on Ronnie O’Sullivan and will be number one in the world if it reaches the final in Hull. Allen also has a chance of becoming world number one for the first time in his career if he can win the £150,000 top prize.
China’s Pan jumped from 46th to 35th after reaching his first ranking final. Lukas Kleckers reached the quarter-finals of a ranking event for the first time and climbed to 88th place, while Oliver Lines also made it to the last eight and is now in 61st place.
Tickets for our tournaments are already on sale – details Click here.
