World number 113 Hammad Miah staged the shock of the season so far, defeating 23-time ranking event winner Judd Trump 4-3 at the Cazoo British Open in Cheltenham.
The thrilling encounter came down to the final black and Miah’s reward sees him face China’s Ma Heilong in the last 32. Defeat for 2019 World Champion Trump means his barren spell in ranking events continues, the last time he picked up ranking silverware was over a year ago at the 2022 Turkish Masters.
The first four frames this afternoon were played at a phenomenal standard. Miah fired in breaks of 126 and 101, with Trump compiling runs of 125 and 124 to leave the pair level at 2-2. Trump then moved 3-2 ahead, before Miah took a tense sixth to force a decider.
The last frame came down to the final ball, but a loose safety from Trump gave Miah a long range black, which he deposited to secure one of the biggest wins of his career.
Victory for Miah marks a high point since a dramatic return to the tour two years ago. During the pandemic he ended up stranded in Uzbekistan on the way home from a holiday in Dubai due to travel restrictions and he narrowly made it back to compete in Q School, where he regained his professional status. He now finds himself in the last 32 of a major event having beaten one of snooker’s modern greats.
Miah said: “In the city there were 300 Russian Billiards clubs and there was only one snooker table. After going to many of these clubs I asked the locals and nobody knew what snooker was. Eventually I met this guy from Tatarstan and he took me to this club. I got the hunger back.
“I appreciate just playing snooker. I want to enjoy it like every person who goes to the club to play. This is my escape now and isn’t my life. This is the way I am trying to look at it so I can enjoy it more. I need to give myself a positive outcome from playing snooker so I don’t want to think of it as work.”
Jack Lisowski’s blockbuster meeting with Shaun Murphy also went right down to the wire, he also prevailed on the final black to earn a 4-3 victory.
Lisowski is competing on home turf this week in Cheltenham and is seeking what would be a momentous maiden ranking title. Trailing 62-0 in the decider he appeared to be set for the exit, but he cleared with a brilliant 63 break to turn the tie on its head and claim victory. Next up he faces either Matthew Selt or Zak Surety.
“It was an amazing match and great to beat Shaun, who was pretty much the player of last season. He played well today so it shows my game is in good shape,” said 32-year-old Lisowski. “I pulled off a really nice break in the decider and to do that under pressure is what you practice for so it is a great feeling.”
Si Jiahui scored a shock 4-1 defeat of 2010 World Champion Neil Robertson. China’s Si enjoyed a stunning run to the semi-finals of last season’s World Championship and showcased some of his best snooker again this afternoon. He fired in breaks of 66 and 107 on his way to victory. Next up Si faces either Mark Selby or Tian Pengfei.
Welsh three-time World Champion Mark Williams secured a hard fought 4-2 win over former UK Champion Stephen Maguire, while recent European Masters winner Barry Hawkins beat Robert Milkins 4-1.
