Snooker star Ng On-yee scores first-ever professional victory, beating China’s Wu Yize to reach Welsh Open main draw
- The 31-year-old Hong Kong star fought back from a one-frame deficit to win 4-2 and take her place in the last 64 of the Wales event
- Ng becomes the second women’s player to beat a man in a pro competition after 12-time women’s world champion Reanne Evans
Hong Kong’s Ng On-yee scored her first-ever victory as a professional on the world snooker tour on Sunday, reaching the main draw of the BetVictor Welsh Open.
Days after her defeat in the quarter-finals of the World Women’s Championship, the Hong Kong star made a quick recovery to beat Chinese youngster Wu Yize 4-2 in the qualifying round in Wolverhampton, setting up a clash against Ali Carter in the last 64 of the Welsh Open at ICC Wales in Newport on February 28.
The victory makes 31-year-old Ng the second women’s player to win a match after 12-time women’s world champion Reanne Evans, of England.
“I was practising and had a few games with different professionals such as Michael Holt, Li Hang, Lulian Boiko and Xu Si after the World Championship [in Sheffield] to prepare for the Welsh Open qualifiers,” said Ng who returned to England a fortnight ago after a surge in Hong Kong Covid-19 cases briefly stopped her season.
“I feel so excited for my very first win in the professional tour, especially after suffering narrow defeats twice early this season when leading a few frames over Craig Steadman in the German Masters before losing 5-4 and Shaun Murphy in the Scottish Open when I lost 4-3.”
Against the 18-year-old Chinese mainlander, Ng lost the opening frame but hit back with a run of 84 to take the second, then got the better of a scrappy third. In the fourth she trailed 43-16 but recovered with breaks of 37 and 33 to lead 3-1. Wu pulled one back but the Hong Kong player sealed victory in frame six with a break of 82.
“It was a slow start, took a while to settle the nerves, but glad to be able to produce two one-visit frames with breaks over 80,” Ng said. “That consistency is exactly what the professional circuit needs. I remember once watching a player made one century and three 60s but still lost 4-3. So, it can get tough in the tour. My scoring and shots selections are definitely areas which I will need improvements on.”
Since the 1990s, Evans is the only other female player to score wins over male opponents in pro events. She beat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the 2013 Wuxi Classic and Robin Hull in the first qualifying round of the 2017 World Championship.
Marco Fu Ka-chun, who practises with Ng when she is in Hong Kong, praised the performance of his teammate, saying on social media: “What a win sister, will be your first win of many.”
Meanwhile, Ding Junhui, once the highest ranking player from mainland China, earned his place in the main round after scoring a comfortable 4-0 win over compatriot Gao Yang.
A difficult couple of years for Ding has seen him slide down to 31st position in the rankings. After spending so long as China’s leading player, he now has four compatriots ranked higher than him. Ding will require a strong end to the season to avoid having to participate in the qualifying stages of the World Championship.
But his performance in Wolverhampton proved to be a good start in that quest. He composed breaks of 59 and 134 on his way to the comprehensive victory.
Another mainlander, Liang Wenbo, put on a supreme display of break building to ease into the main event with a 4-0 win over Zhang Jiankang. The Firecracker crafted breaks of 105, 134, 73 and 85 during the tie, which lasted just 55 minutes.
