There were four matches played in two sessions yesterday.

Afternoon session

Cao Kaisheng looked very nervous at the start of his match against “The Shirt”, Lee Richardson. This is quite understandable as I’m told that Cao had never before left China, so everything here is new and alien to him and he also knew that he was watched by thousands  in China over the streaming. But he battled through, progressively seemed to settle and eventually took the match on a black ball shootout.

Rhydian Richards, the Wales n°1 amateur, had an easier route to the QF, as he defeated an out of sorts, but battling, Joe Johnson by 3-0.

Lee Richardson

Evening session

Both evening matches in the evening were quality.

Patrick Wallace, who lost in the first round last year, beat Simon Dent by 3-0. Patrick looked very nervous at the start and it was Simon who was first in with a telling break in frame 1. It wasn’t a winning break though and Patrick managed to nick the frame. It changed the whole psychology of the match.

Aaron Canavan supported by a solid group of fans who have made the trip from Jersey, looked the better player from the start … and had a bit of run too. Dennis Taylor wasn’t playing badly by any means, and the match was hard-fought and closer than the final score – 3-1 to Aaron – suggests.

As compared to last year, the quality of the snooker on display is seriously higher. It’s very obvious that all the players take this tournament, and the whole Seniors tour, very seriously and have worked hard on their preparation … Great to see!

You can watch the matches in streaming on the Snooker Legends Youtube channel.