The 2024 World Grand Prix (officially the 2024 Spreadex World Grand Prix) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 15 to 21 January 2024 at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, England.[1] The eleventh ranking event of the 2023–24 season, following the Scottish Open and preceding the German Masters, it was the first of three events in the Players Series, preceding the Players Championship and the Tour Championship. Organised by the World Snooker Tour and sponsored by betting company Spreadex, the event was broadcast by ITV domestically, by Eurosport in Europe, and by other broadcasters worldwide. The winner received £100,000 from a total prize fund of £380,000.
 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 15–21 January 2024 |
| Venue | Morningside Arena |
| City | Leicester |
| Country | England |
| Organisation | World Snooker Tour |
| Format | Ranking event |
| Total prize fund | £380,000 |
| Winner's share | £100,000 |
| Highest break |  Shaun Murphy (ENG) (145) |
| Final | |
| Champion | Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) |
| Runner-up | Judd Trump (ENG) |
| Score | 10–7 |
← 2023 | |
The event featured the top 32 players in the one‑year ranking list as it stood after the 2023 Scottish Open. Mark Allen was the defending champion, having defeated Judd Trump 10–9 in the previous final, but he lost 2–4 to Zhang Anda in the last 16. Ronnie O'Sullivan defeated Trump 10–7 in the final to capture his third World Grand Prix title, and a record-extending 41st ranking title.
Format
editThe event took place from 15 to 21 January 2024 at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, United Kingdom.[1][2] It featured the top 32 players in the one‑year ranking list as it stood after the 2023 Scottish Open.
The last-32 and last-16 matches were played as the best of seven frames; the quarter-finals were the best of nine frames; the semi-finals were the best of 11 frames, and the final was the best of 19 frames, played over two sessions.[2] The defending champion was Northern Irish player Mark Allen, who won his first World Grand Prix title in 2023, defeating England's Judd Trump 10–9 in the final.[3]
Broadcasters
editThe event was broadcast by ITV in the UK; Discovery+ and Eurosport in Europe (including the UK and Ireland); CCTV-5, Migu, Youku, and Huya in mainland China; DAZN in the US and Brazil; Now TV in Hong Kong; Astro SuperSport in Malaysia and Brunei; TrueVisions in Thailand; Sportcast in Taiwan; Premier Sports Network in the Philippines; Fastsports in Pakistan; and Matchroom.live in all other territories.[4]
Seeding list
editUnlike other events where the defending champion is seeded first, the reigning World Champion second, and the rest based on the world rankings, the qualification and seedings in the Players Series tournaments are determined by the one-year ranking list. The below list shows the top 32 players with the most ranking points acquired during the 2023–24 season, as of after the Scottish Open:[5][6]
| Seed | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Judd Trump (ENG) |
406,000 |
| 2 | Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) |
306,500 |
| 3 |  Zhang Anda (CHN) |
260,500 |
| 4 |  Mark Williams (WAL) |
173,000 |
| 5 | Barry Hawkins (ENG) |
159,500 |
| 6 | Ding Junhui (CHN) |
150,000 |
| 7 | Tom Ford (ENG) |
139,500 |
| 8 | Ali Carter (ENG) |
117,000 |
| 9 | Mark Selby (ENG) |
113,500 |
| 10 | Gary Wilson (ENG) |
104,000 |
| 11 |  Noppon Saengkham (THA) |
89,000 |
| 12 |  John Higgins (SCO) |
89,000 |
| 13 |  Hossein Vafaei (IRN) |
89,000 |
| 14 |  Mark Allen (NIR) |
88,500 |
| 15 | Zhou Yuelong (CHN) |
81,000 |
| 16 | Lyu Haotian (CHN) |
79,500 |
| Seed | Player | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 17 | Chris Wakelin (ENG) |
79,000 |
| 18 | Stephen Maguire (SCO) |
60,000 |
| 19 | Jack Lisowski (ENG) |
59,500 |
| 20 | Matthew Selt (ENG) |
58,000 |
| 21 | Shaun Murphy (ENG) |
56,500 |
| 22 | Xiao Guodong (CHN) |
56,500 |
| 23 | David Gilbert (ENG) |
53,000 |
| 24 | Yuan Sijun (CHN) |
50,500 |
| 25 | Wu Yize (CHN) |
50,000 |
| 26 | Jordan Brown (NIR) |
49,500 |
| 27 | Ricky Walden (ENG) |
48,000 |
| 28 | Cao Yupeng (CHN) |
48,000 |
| 29 | Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (THA) |
45,000 |
| 30 | Dominic Dale (WAL) |
44,000 |
| 31 | Pang Junxu (CHN) |
43,500 |
| 32 | Jamie Jones (WAL) |
42,000 |
Prize fund
editThe event featured a total prize fund of £380,000, with the winner receiving £100,000. The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below:
- Winner: £100,000
- Runner-up: £40,000
- Semi-final: £20,000
- Quarter-final: £12,500
- Last 16: £7,500
- Last 32: £5,000
- Highest break: £10,000
- Total: £380,000
Summary
editLast 32
editThe first round matches were played from 15 to 17 January.[2] Cao Yupeng, seeded 28, defeated fifth seed Barry Hawkins 4–3. Shaun Murphy, seeded 21, whitewashed 12th seed John Higgins 4–0 in a match that lasted only 41 minutes, with Murphy making a century break of 145 in the first frame.[7] Despite having problems with deteriorating eyesight, 48 year old Mark Williams beat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4–3, making a 134 break in the third frame.[8] Mark Allen made three century breaks of 103, 110, and 108 in defeating Jack Lisowski 4–2.[9]
Last 16
editThe second round matches were played from 17 to 18 January.[2] Judd Trump whitewashed Lyu Haotian 4–0, setting up a quarter final meeting with Mark Selby who defeated Ali Carter 4–3. There was also a 4–0 whitewash victory for Cao over Murphy.[10] Zhang Anda defeated defending champion Allen 4–2, setting up a meeting with Ding Junhui in the quarter finals, after Ding beat Noppon Saengkham 4–1. Ronnie O'Sullivan defeated Zhou Yuelong 4–3.[11]
Quarter finals
editThe quarter-finals were played from 18 to 19 January.[2] In a dominant performance, Trump defeated Selby 5–1, making a 119 break in the fourth frame. Cao beat Williams 5–4 and O'Sullivan defeated Gary Wilson 5–1 making a 129 break in the third frame. Ding beat Zhang 5–2.[12][13]
Semi finals
editThe semi-finals were played from 19 to 20 January.[2] In the first semi-final, Trump beat Cao 6–2, making a 106 break in the second frame.[14][15] In the second semi-final O'Sullivan defeated Ding 6–1 in only 1 hour and 12 minutes, making four centuries of 135, 128, 128, and 124.[16][17][18]
Final
editThe final was played over two sessions between Trump and O'Sullivan on 21 January as the best of 19 frames.[2] In the afternoon session, Trump won four frames in a row to lead 4–0 at the mid-session interval. O'Sullivan took the next two frames, making a 60 break in the sixth, to narrow the score to 4–2, and then to 5–3 at the end of the session. Trump made a break of 66 to win the opening frame of the evening session, advancing to 6–3. However, O'Sullivan won six consecutive frames, making breaks of 58, 74, 52, and 51, to lead by 9–6. Trump closed in to 9–7 by winning the 16th frame, but O'Sullivan took the next with a break of 52 to capture a 10–7 victory, claiming his third World Grand Prix title, and a record-extending 41st ranking title.[19][20]
Tournament draw
editThe draw for the tournament is shown below. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the players' seedings, and players in bold denote match winners. The last-32 and last-16 matches were played as the best of seven frames; the quarter-finals were the best of nine frames; the semi-finals were the best of 11 frames, and the final was the best of 19 frames, played over two sessions.[21][22]
Final
edit| Final: Best of 19 frames. Referee: Olivier Marteel Morningside Arena, Leicester, England, 21 January 2024 | ||
| Judd Trump (1) England
|
7–10 | Ronnie O'Sullivan (2) England
|
| Afternoon: 74–0, 102–1, 72–52, 85–15, 18–85, 15–114, 102–28, 33–96 Evening: 81–45, 12–114, 0–74, 57–64, 0–87, 48–58, 62–72, 112–0, 40–79 | ||
| (frame 1) 74 | Highest break | 74 (frame 11) |
| 0 | Century breaks | 0 |
Century breaks
editA total of 30 century breaks were made in the tournament.[23]
- 145 – Shaun Murphy[7]
- 137, 110, 108, 103 – Mark Allen
- 135, 129, 128, 128, 124, 111, 107 – Ronnie O'Sullivan
- 134, 108 – Mark Williams
- 134 – Hossein Vafaei
- 126 – Barry Hawkins
- 124 – Cao Yupeng
- 121 – Gary Wilson
- 119, 106 – Judd Trump
- 113 – Tom Ford
- 105, 100 – Mark Selby
- 105 – Pang Junxu
- 103 – Ali Carter
- 103 – Jamie Jones
- 102, 101 – Ding Junhui
- 102 – Zhou Yuelong
- 101 – Zhang Anda
References
edit- ^ a b "Spreadex World Grand Prix". World Snooker Tour. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ a b c d e f g "World Grand Prix (2024)". snooker.org. 21 January 2024. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2023.
- ^ "Allen edges Trump in epic". World Snooker Tour. 22 January 2023. Archived from the original on 16 January 2024. Retrieved 16 January 2024.
- ^ "How to watch the Spreadex World Grand Prix". World Snooker Tour. 9 January 2024. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "1 Year List after the 2023 BetVictor Scottish Open" (PDF). World Snooker Tour. 17 December 2023. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
- ^ "World Grand Prix Rankings". snooker.org. 18 December 2023. Archived from the original on 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023.
- ^ a b "John Higgins v Shaun Murphy". World Snooker Tour. 16 January 2024. Archived from the original on 22 January 2024. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
- ^ "Life's a blur for winning Williams". World Snooker Tour. 16 January 2024. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ "Champ Allen fires three centuries". World Snooker Tour. 17 January 2024. Archived from the original on 17 January 2024. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
- ^ "Selby to face Trump in quarters". World Snooker Tour. 17 January 2024. Archived from the original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
- ^ "O'Sullivan keeps streak going". World Snooker Tour. 18 January 2024. Archived from the original on 18 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
- ^ Kane, Desmond (19 January 2024). "World Grand Prix 2024 snooker - Ronnie O'Sullivan to face Ding Junhui in semi-finals". Eurosport. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ "O'Sullivan to face Ding in semis". World Snooker Tour. 19 January 2024. Archived from the original on 19 January 2024. Retrieved 19 January 2024.
- ^ "World Grand Prix: Judd Trump sets up final against Ronnie O'Sullivan or Ding Junhui". BBC Sport. 20 January 2024. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Judd Trump v Cao Yupeng". World Snooker Tour. 19 January 2024. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "World Grand Prix: Ronnie O'Sullivan thrashes Ding Junhui to set up final with Judd Trump". BBC Sport. 20 January 2024. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "Ding Junhui v Ronnie O'Sullivan". World Snooker Tour. 20 January 2024. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
- ^ "Ronnie O'Sullivan's best snooker performance of all time vs Ding Junhui at 2024 World Grand Prix". YouTube. Archived from the original on 30 March 2024. Retrieved 30 March 2024.
- ^ "O'Sullivan overturns Trump to extend trophy sequence". World Snooker Tour. 21 January 2024. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "The final: frame by frame". World Snooker Tour. 21 January 2024. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "Matches". World Snooker Tour. 21 January 2024. Archived from the original on 11 July 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "World Grand Prix 2024 bracket". snooker.org. 21 January 2024. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "Centuries: World Grand Prix 30". snookerinfo.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 February 2024. Retrieved 19 February 2024.