Gilbert Left Unsure Of Crucible Place
David Gilbert lost 6-3 to Scott Donaldson in the last 32 of the XingPai China Open and must now wait for other results to find out whether he will be among the top 16 seeds for the World Championship.
Gilbert is 16th in the Race to the Crucible and hoping to be a seeded player in Sheffield for the first time. But with a £225,000 top prize up for grabs this week in Beijing, there are several players below him who could jump into the top 16 by winning the title. All 15 players above Gilbert in the list are now sure of their places at the Crucible.
Scotland’s Donaldson produced a fine display to knock out Gilbert, making breaks of 92, 78, 60, 50 and 64.
Anthony McGill is one of those who could leapfrog Gilbert by winning the title, and he won a Glasgow derby against Stephen Maguire 6-3. After losing the first frame, McGill took six of the next eight with top runs of 70, 70, 73, 82 and 51.
“I scored well and got the run of the ball,” said McGill, who now meets Alan McManus. “It will be another tough game against Alan, he has been a top player for a long time. If I win the title then I’ll deserve to be in the top 16. Otherwise my season has been pretty bad so I don’t deserve it.”
Veteran McManus impressed in a 6-0 whitewash of Stuart Carrington, his top break 97.
Stuart Bingham pulled away from 3-3 against Peter Ebdon to win 6-3, making a 147 in the seventh frame. Read more about that here.
Bingham, who could be in a line for a £27,000 bonus, said: “To make a 147 on the TV table is brilliant. I’m sure my wife and family will be pleased because we have just booked a holiday to Tenerife so hopefully that’s it paid for! I have had a great season with two titles, and it hasn’t finished yet.”
Liang Wenbo came from 5-3 down to beat Craig Steadman 6-5, making breaks of 134, 85 and 43 in the last three frames. Li Hang saw off Robbie Williams 6-4.
Jack Lisowski top scored with 71 in a 6-3 defeat of Gerard Greene while Indian Open finalist Lyu Haotian eased to a 6-2 win over James Wattana.