2023 World Grand Prix

The 2023 World Grand Prix (officially the 2023 Duelbits World Grand Prix) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 16 to 22 January 2023 at The Centaur in Cheltenham, England.[1] The eighth ranking event of the 2022–23 snooker season, it preceded the 2023 Players Championship and the 2023 Tour Championship as the first of three events in the Players Series. Sponsored for the first time by cryptocurrency casino Duelbits,[2] the tournament was broadcast by ITV domestically, by Eurosport in Europe, and by Matchroom Sport and other broadcasters internationally.[3] The winner received £100,000 from a total prize fund of £380,000.

2023 Duelbits World Grand Prix
Tournament information
Dates16–22 January 2023 (2023-01-16 – 2023-01-22)
VenueThe Centaur
CityCheltenham
CountryEngland
OrganisationWorld Snooker Tour
FormatRanking event
Total prize fund£380,000
Winner's share£100,000
Highest break Mark Allen (NIR) (141)
Final
Champion Mark Allen (NIR)
Runner-up Judd Trump (ENG)
Score10–9
2021
2024

The participants were the top 32 players on the one-year ranking list as it stood after the 2022 English Open.[4] Lu Ning was ineligible to compete after the sport's governing body suspended him amid a match-fixing investigation; his place went to David Gilbert.[5] Four-time world champion John Higgins failed to qualify after finishing at 54th place on the one-year list following the English Open.[6][7]

The defending champion was Ronnie O'Sullivan, who defeated Neil Robertson 10–8 in the previous season's final.[8] However, O'Sullivan lost 2–4 to Noppon Saengkham in the last 16.[9] Facing Judd Trump in the final, Mark Allen won five consecutive frames to lead 7–2, but Trump won six of the next seven to tie the scores at 8–8.[10][11] The match went to a deciding frame, where Allen clinched a 10–9 victory to win his ninth ranking title.[12] It was Allen's third ranking tournament win of the season, following the 2022 Northern Ireland Open and 2022 UK Championship, and took him to a career-high of number three in the world rankings.[13] Allen made the tournament's highest break of 141 in the 12th frame of the final.[14]

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below:[15][1]

  • 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

Seeding list

The top 32 players on the one-year ranking list, up to and including the 2022 English Open, qualified for the tournament. Seedings were based on the order of the players in that list.[16]

The rankings are given below.[17]

SeedPlayerTotal points
1  Mark Allen (NIR)402,000
2  Ryan Day (WAL)136,500
3  Kyren Wilson (ENG)120,000
4  Ding Junhui (CHN)117,000
5  Mark Selby (ENG)116,000
6  Gary Wilson (ENG)98,500
7  Luca Brecel (BEL)93,500
8  Jack Lisowski (ENG)75,500
9  Zhou Yuelong (CHN)70,000
10  Judd Trump (ENG)61,000
11  Tom Ford (ENG)59,500
12  Barry Hawkins (ENG)58,500
13  Mark Williams (WAL)55,000
14  Shaun Murphy (ENG)53,500
15  Neil Robertson (AUS)52,500
16  Joe O'Connor (ENG)49,000
17  Lyu Haotian (CHN)47,000
18  Xiao Guodong (CHN)45,500
19  Ali Carter (ENG)44,500
20  Jamie Jones (WAL)44,000
21  Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG)42,000
22  Sam Craigie (ENG)39,500
23  Hossein Vafaei (IRN)39,000
24  Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (THA)38,000
25  Robert Milkins (ENG)36,500
26  Joe Perry (ENG)36,500
27  Anthony McGill (SCO)35,500
28  Noppon Saengkham (THA)35,500
29  Stuart Bingham (ENG)34,500
30  Robbie Williams (ENG)32,500
31  Ricky Walden (ENG)31,000
32  David Gilbert (ENG)31,000

Tournament draw

Last 32
Best of 7 frames
Last 16
Best of 7 frames
Quarter-finals
Best of 9 frames
Semi-finals
Best of 11 frames
Final
Best of 19 frames
               
1 Mark Allen4
32 David Gilbert2
1 Mark Allen4
16 Joe O'Connor3
16 Joe O'Connor4
17 Lyu Haotian2
1 Mark Allen5
8 Jack Lisowski4
9 Zhou Yuelong4
24 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh3
9 Zhou Yuelong2
8 Jack Lisowski4
8 Jack Lisowski4
25 Robert Milkins3
1 Mark Allen6
28 Noppon Saengkham1
5 Mark Selby1
28 Noppon Saengkham4
28 Noppon Saengkham4
21 Ronnie O'Sullivan2
12 Barry Hawkins0
21 Ronnie O'Sullivan4
28 Noppon Saengkham5
13 Mark Williams3
13 Mark Williams4
20 Jamie Jones1
13 Mark Williams4
4 Ding Junhui0
4 Ding Junhui4
29 Stuart Bingham0
1 Mark Allen10
10 Judd Trump9
3 Kyren Wilson4
30 Robbie Williams2
3 Kyren Wilson2
14 Shaun Murphy4
14 Shaun Murphy4
19 Ali Carter0
14 Shaun Murphy5
27 Anthony McGill4
11 Tom Ford2
22 Sam Craigie4
22 Sam Craigie0
27 Anthony McGill4
6 Gary Wilson1
27 Anthony McGill4
14 Shaun Murphy2
10 Judd Trump6
7 Luca Brecel4
26 Joe Perry1
7 Luca Brecel0
10 Judd Trump4
10 Judd Trump4
23 Hossein Vafaei2
10 Judd Trump5
18 Xiao Guodong3
15 Neil Robertson1
18 Xiao Guodong4
18 Xiao Guodong4
2 Ryan Day1
2 Ryan Day4
31 Ricky Walden1

Final

Final: Best of 19 frames. Referee: Brendan Moore
The Centaur, Cheltenham, England, 22 January 2023
Mark Allen (1)
 Northern Ireland
10–9Judd Trump (10)
 England
Afternoon: 58–22, 33–68, 0–74, 71–31, 89–25, 63–28, 83–9, 123–0
Evening: 88–0, 0–140 (140), 30–108 (108), 141–0 (141), 0–91,
41–87, 11–79, 1–93, 65–27, 0–76, 60–19
141Highest break140
1Century breaks2

Century breaks

A total of 30 century breaks were made during the tournament.[18]

References