Bai Yulu continued to impress in her debut pro season as she won a televised ranking event match for the first time, beating Jamie Clarke in the first round of the 9Club Shoot Out.
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China’s 21-year-old Bai made history at the recent Victorian Plumbing UK Championship qualifiers, winning three matches to reach the last 48, the deepest ever run by a woman in a Triple Crown event. And she showed her potential again today in Leicester as she kept her composure with the clock ticking to beat world number 62 Clarke.
She built a 40-13 lead with two minutes to go, then Clarke had a chance to snatch victory, but missed the last red with the rest when he trailed by just four points, and that proved the key moment as Bai booked her place in the last 64 on Friday.
“I just tried to stay as focused as possible when taking each shot,” said the reigning World Women’s Champion. “It’s tough with the atmosphere and the crowd, but I aimed to stay serious. I wasn’t fixated on winning, I just wanted to enjoy the experience. I noticed that Jamie was a bit shaky, just like me. In this atmosphere, nerves are inevitable. It’s all about who can handle the pressure better.
“I was watching the matches yesterday, seeing the other Chinese players compete. It made me eager to play because the vibe here is so joyful – it’s irresistible. We talked about keeping a faster rhythm and treating the match as fun – don’t overthink it. Taking it too seriously can actually make you more nervous. ”
Welsh 16-year-old amateur Riley Powell triumphed in the closing moments of his clash with fellow teenager Stan Moody. Leading 11-8, Moody made a safety error, which handed his opponent the table with 20 seconds to go. Powell missed an attempted three-ball plant but another red dropped in, then he added the blue just before the clock hit zero.
“I was lucky on the red,” admitted Powell. “I knew I had just enough time to go for the blue. It was an unbelievable feeling when it went in because I have friends and family in the crowd, cheering me on.”
Four time World Champion Mark Selby booked his place in the random draw for the second round, which will be made at 9pm on Thursday night live on WST’s Instagram, by beating Baipat Siripaporn with a break of 52.
Shaun Murphy couldn’t replicate last year’s unique 147 but he still saw off Sean O’Sullivan with a top run of 35. Zhang Anda made the highest break of the event so far with an 89 to beat Hatem Yassen. Amateurs Lewis Ullah and Vladislav Gradinari progressed to round two, beating Steven Wardropper and Daniel Wells respectively.
