Gary Wilson has stormed into contention in the race to qualify for the Riyadh Season World Masters of Snooker by winning the BetVictor Welsh Open.
The £80,000 top prize has boosted Wilson to 12th place in the race, with the top eight after this week’s Johnstone’s Paint Players Championship in Telford to earn a place in the new invitation event in Saudi Arabia, which runs from March 4 to 6.
The top six are now guaranteed a spot in Saudi: Ronnie O’Sullivan, Judd Trump, Luca Brecel, Mark Allen, Mark Selby and Shaun Murphy.
Mark Williams is well-placed in seventh with a tally of £421,000, then its Ding Junhui in eighth with £398,500. The chasing pack are close behind, with Ali Carter on £389,500, John Higgins on £384,000 and then Wilson - who must reach the final - on £368,500. Zhang Anda and Tom Ford also have a chance - but both need the £125,000 top prize this week.
Ding and Higgins clash in the first round in Telford, so that will be a crucial battle in the race to Saudi, as victory for Higgins would keep alive his hopes of a top eight berth.
Johnstone’s Paint Players Championship Prize Money
Winner £125,000
Runner-up £50,000
Semi-finals £30,000
Quarter-finals £15,000
Last 16 £10,000 (first round loser money counts towards ranking)
Having won two titles this season, Wilson is up to fourth on the one-year ranking list, behind only Judd Trump, Ronnie O’Sullivan and Zhang Anda. The top 16 on that list have qualified for Telford – for the draw and format click here.
After the Johnstone’s Paint Players Championship there is just one more counting event – the World Open in March – before the field is set for the Johnstone’s Paint Tour Championship, with only the top 12 to go through to Manchester Central for the last event in the series in April.
Mark Allen reached the quarter-finals in Wales and he currently occupies 12th spot with £114,500, with a lead of £10,500 over 13-placed Hossein Vafaei.
On the official two-year list, Wilson is up from 16th to 12th. Martin O’Donnell was runner-up in Wales and he’s up from 76th to 60th. O’Sullivan remains number one, but if he doesn’t reach the final in Telford then Trump could take top spot by winning the title.
There are just three counting events to go in the Race to the Crucible. Wilson is up to tenth and looks safe for a Crucible spot in April. Robert Milkins is up to 15th, just ahead of Jack Lisowski and Barry Hawkins, with only £3,500 separating those three players.
