Ding Junhui is the Six Red World Champion, but will he be at the Crucible for the 15 red version?
Next week’s Duelbits Tour Championship in Hull is the final event before the top 16 seeds are confirmed for the Cazoo World Championship. Ryan Day, Ding Junhui and Gary Wilson are in contention for the last two spots.
The top 14 in the race, down to Stuart Bingham (note that Zhao Xintong will not be among them as he cannot enter), are secure and will be at the Crucible in April.
Wilson would have been sure of joining them if he had reached the final of the WST Classic, but he suffered an agonising 5-4 defeat to Pang Junxu in the semi-finals, which meant he missed out on a place in the top eight of the one-year list and a trip to Hull. He is still 15th in the Crucible race so could be a seed for the first time in his career, but that depends on other results next week. The permutations are:
Ding loses to Mark Allen on Monday: Wilson and Day go to the Crucible
Ding beats Allen then Day loses to Mark Selby on Thursday: Wilson and Ding go to the Crucible
Ding reaches the final and Day beats Selby: Day and Ding go to the Crucible
Ding and Day both win their first match, then Ding loses in the semi-finals: Wilson and Day go to the Crucible
Duelbits Tour Championship prize money:
Winner: £150,000
Runner-up: £60,000
Semi-finals: £40,000
Quarter-finals: £20,000 (counts towards ranking)
All players outside the top 16 will head for the Cazoo World Championship qualifying rounds, which will run from April 3 to 12 at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield.
Selby won the WST Classic, his second ranking title of the season and 22nd of his career, which boosted him from eighth to third on the one-year list. He’s among the eight players heading to Hull – for the draw and format click here.
He remains second on the official two-year list but closes the gap on Ronnie O’Sullivan and will go to world number one if he reaches the final in Hull. Allen also has a chance to become world number one for the first time in his career if he can win the £150,000 top prize.
China’s Pang jumps 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 he’s up to 88th, while Oliver Lines also made the last eight and he’s now 61st.
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