# 2021 English Open (snooker)

The 2021 English Open (officially the 2021 BetVictor English Open) was a professional ranking snooker tournament that took place from 1–7 November 2021 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England. It was the fourth ranking event of the 2021–22 season, and the second event in both the Home Nations Series and the European Series. Qualifying for the tournament took place from 17 to 22 September 2021 at the Metrodome in Barnsley, England, although matches involving the top 16 players, and two other matches involving English wildcards, were held over and played at the Marshall Arena. The event was broadcast on Eurosport across the United Kingdom and Europe.
Judd Trump was the defending champion, having defeated Neil Robertson 9–8 in the previous year's final. Trump lost 3–5 to Mark King in the quarter-finals. Robertson faced John Higgins in the final. Although Robertson led 5–3 after the afternoon session, Higgins won the first four frames of the evening session to lead 7–5, and then moved within one frame of victory at 8–6. However, Robertson won the last three frames to defeat Higgins 9–8 and claim the 21st ranking title of his professional career. He became the third player, after Trump and Mark Selby, to win three Home Nations titles, and the first player to win three different tournaments in the series, having previously won the Scottish Open and the Welsh Open.
Higgins sustained his second successive defeat from 8–6 ahead in a best-of-17 ranking final. He had lost the 2021 Northern Ireland Open final to Mark Allen under similar circumstances the previous month.

## Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for this year is shown below:
* Winner: £70,000
* Runner-up: £30,000
* Semi-final: £20,000
* Quarter-final: £10,000
* Last 16: £7,500
* Last 32: £4,000
* Last 64: £3,000
* Highest break: £5,000
* Total: £405,000

## Main draw
### Top half

| Last 64 Best of 7 frames | Last 64 Best of 7 frames | Last 32 Best of 7 frames | Last 32 Best of 7 frames | Last 16 Best of 7 frames | Last 16 Best of 7 frames | Quarter-finals Best of 9 frames | Quarter-finals Best of 9 frames | Semi-finals Best of 11 frames | Semi-finals Best of 11 frames |
| Judd Trump (ENG) (1) | 4 | | | | | | |
| Jimmy Robertson (ENG) | 2 | | | | | | |
| Jimmy Robertson (ENG) | 2 | Judd Trump (1) | 4 | | | | |
| | | Steven Hallworth | 1 | | | | |
| Xiao Guodong (CHN) (32) | 2 | Steven Hallworth | 1 | | | | |
| Steven Hallworth (ENG) | 4 | | | | | | |
| Steven Hallworth (ENG) | 4 | | | Judd Trump (1) | 4 | | |
| | | | | Ross Muir | 1 | | |
| Anthony McGill (SCO) (16) | 4 | | | Ross Muir | 1 | | |
| Gerard Greene (NIR) | 0 | | | | | | |
| Gerard Greene (NIR) | 0 | Anthony McGill (16) | 0 | | | | |
| | | Ross Muir | 4 | | | | |
| Ross Muir (SCO) | 4 | Ross Muir | 4 | | | | |
| Wu Yize (CHN) | 1 | | | | | | |
| Wu Yize (CHN) | 1 | | | | | Judd Trump (1) | 3 |
| | | | | | | Mark King | 5 |
| Alexander Ursenbacher (SUI) | 0 | | | | | Mark King | 5 |
| Tom Ford (ENG) (24) | 4 | | | | | | |
| Tom Ford (ENG) (24) | 4 | Tom Ford (24) | 3 | | | | |
| | | Mark King | 4 | | | | |
| Cao Yupeng (CHN) | 0 | Mark King | 4 | | | | |
| Mark King (ENG) | 4 | | | | | | |
| Mark King (ENG) | 4 | | | Mark King | 4 | | |
| | | | | Paul Deaville | 0 | | |
| Xu Si (CHN) | 0 | | | Paul Deaville | 0 | | |
| Zhao Xintong (CHN) (25) | 4 | | | | | | |
| Zhao Xintong (CHN) (25) | 4 | Zhao Xintong (25) | 3 | | | | |
| | | Paul Deaville | 4 | | | | |
| Chang Bingyu (CHN) | 3 | Paul Deaville | 4 | | | | |
| Paul Deaville | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| Paul Deaville | 4 | | | | | | | Mark King | 4 |
| | | | | | | | | Neil Robertson (4) | 6 |
| Kyren Wilson (ENG) (5) | 4 | | | | | | | Neil Robertson (4) | 6 |
| Ashley Carty (ENG) | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| Ashley Carty (ENG) | 2 | Kyren Wilson (5) | 4 | | | | | | |
| | | Ben Woollaston | 3 | | | | | | |
| Gary Wilson (ENG) (28) | 3 | Ben Woollaston | 3 | | | | | | |
| Ben Woollaston (ENG) | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| Ben Woollaston (ENG) | 4 | | | Kyren Wilson (5) | 4 | | | | |
| | | | | Robbie Williams | 1 | | | | |
| Barry Hawkins (ENG) (12) | 4 | | | Robbie Williams | 1 | | | | |
| Jak Jones (WAL) | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| Jak Jones (WAL) | 3 | Barry Hawkins (12) | 1 | | | | | | |
| | | Robbie Williams | 4 | | | | | | |
| Soheil Vahedi (IRN) | 1 | Robbie Williams | 4 | | | | | | |
| Robbie Williams (ENG) | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| Robbie Williams (ENG) | 4 | | | | | Kyren Wilson (5) | 4 | | |
| | | | | | | Neil Robertson (4) | 5 |
| Mark Davis (ENG) | 4 | | | | | Neil Robertson (4) | 5 |
| Graeme Dott (SCO) (20) | 3 | | | | | | |
| Graeme Dott (SCO) (20) | 3 | Mark Davis | 4 | | | | |
| | | Fergal O'Brien | 1 | | | | |
| Fergal O'Brien (IRL) | 4 | Fergal O'Brien | 1 | | | | |
| Stuart Bingham (ENG) (13) | 3 | | | | | | |
| Stuart Bingham (ENG) (13) | 3 | | | Mark Davis | 3 | | |
| | | | | Neil Robertson (4) | 4 | | |
| Sunny Akani (THA) | 4 | | | Neil Robertson (4) | 4 | | |
| Ricky Walden (ENG) (29) | 3 | | | | | | |
| Ricky Walden (ENG) (29) | 3 | Sunny Akani | 2 | | | | |
| | | Neil Robertson (4) | 4 | | | | |
| James Cahill (ENG) | w/d | Neil Robertson (4) | 4 | | | | |
| Neil Robertson (AUS) (4) | w/o | | | | | | |

### Bottom half

| Last 64 Best of 7 frames | Last 64 Best of 7 frames | Last 32 Best of 7 frames | Last 32 Best of 7 frames | Last 16 Best of 7 frames | Last 16 Best of 7 frames | Quarter-finals Best of 9 frames | Quarter-finals Best of 9 frames | Semi-finals Best of 11 frames | Semi-finals Best of 11 frames |
| Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) (3) | 4 | | | | | | |
| Michael Georgiou (CYP) | 1 | | | | | | |
| Michael Georgiou (CYP) | 1 | Ronnie O'Sullivan (3) | 4 | | | | |
| | | Anthony Hamilton | 3 | | | | |
| Rory McLeod (JAM) | 1 | Anthony Hamilton | 3 | | | | |
| Anthony Hamilton (ENG) | 4 | | | | | | |
| Anthony Hamilton (ENG) | 4 | | | Ronnie O'Sullivan (3) | 4 | | |
| | | | | Jamie Clarke | 0 | | |
| Mark Joyce (ENG) | 0 | | | Jamie Clarke | 0 | | |
| Jamie Clarke (WAL) | 4 | | | | | | |
| Jamie Clarke (WAL) | 4 | Jamie Clarke | 4 | | | | |
| | | Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (19) | 1 | | | | |
| Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (THA) (19) | 4 | Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (19) | 1 | | | | |
| Peter Devlin (ENG) | 0 | | | | | | |
| Peter Devlin (ENG) | 0 | | | | | Ronnie O'Sullivan (3) | 5 |
| | | | | | | Luca Brecel | 1 |
| Li Hang (CHN) | 4 | | | | | Luca Brecel | 1 |
| Ali Carter (ENG) (22) | 2 | | | | | | |
| Ali Carter (ENG) (22) | 2 | Li Hang | 1 | | | | |
| | | Luca Brecel | 4 | | | | |
| Stuart Carrington (ENG) | 0 | Luca Brecel | 4 | | | | |
| Luca Brecel (BEL) | 4 | | | | | | |
| Luca Brecel (BEL) | 4 | | | Luca Brecel | 4 | | |
| | | | | Fraser Patrick | 2 | | |
| Fraser Patrick (SCO) | 4 | | | Fraser Patrick | 2 | | |
| Hossein Vafaei (IRN) | 2 | | | | | | |
| Hossein Vafaei (IRN) | 2 | Fraser Patrick | 4 | | | | |
| | | Shaun Murphy (6) | 2 | | | | |
| Joe O'Connor (ENG) | 2 | Shaun Murphy (6) | 2 | | | | |
| Shaun Murphy (ENG) (6) | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| Shaun Murphy (ENG) (6) | 4 | | | | | | | Ronnie O'Sullivan (3) | 5 |
| | | | | | | | | John Higgins (7) | 6 |
| John Higgins (SCO) (7) | 4 | | | | | | | John Higgins (7) | 6 |
| Oliver Lines (ENG) | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| Oliver Lines (ENG) | 0 | John Higgins (7) | 4 | | | | | | |
| | | Lu Ning | 3 | | | | | | |
| Lu Ning (CHN) | w/o | Lu Ning | 3 | | | | | | |
| Allan Taylor (ENG) | w/d | | | | | | | | |
| Allan Taylor (ENG) | w/d | | | John Higgins (7) | 4 | | | | |
| | | | | Ding Junhui (10) | 1 | | | | |
| Ding Junhui (CHN) (10) | 4 | | | Ding Junhui (10) | 1 | | | | |
| Tian Pengfei (CHN) | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| Tian Pengfei (CHN) | 1 | Ding Junhui (10) | 4 | | | | | | |
| | | Martin Gould (23) | 0 | | | | | | |
| Martin Gould (ENG) (23) | 4 | Martin Gould (23) | 0 | | | | | | |
| Scott Donaldson (SCO) | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| Scott Donaldson (SCO) | 0 | | | | | John Higgins (7) | 5 | | |
| | | | | | | Yan Bingtao (15) | 3 |
| Martin O'Donnell (ENG) | 1 | | | | | Yan Bingtao (15) | 3 |
| David Gilbert (ENG) (18) | 4 | | | | | | |
| David Gilbert (ENG) (18) | 4 | David Gilbert (18) | 2 | | | | |
| | | Yan Bingtao (15) | 4 | | | | |
| Nigel Bond (ENG) | 1 | Yan Bingtao (15) | 4 | | | | |
| Yan Bingtao (CHN) (15) | 4 | | | | | | |
| Yan Bingtao (CHN) (15) | 4 | | | Yan Bingtao (15) | 4 | | |
| | | | | Mark Selby (2) | 3 | | |
| Stephen Hendry (SCO) | 0 | | | Mark Selby (2) | 3 | | |
| Chris Wakelin (ENG) | 4 | | | | | | |
| Chris Wakelin (ENG) | 4 | Chris Wakelin | 1 | | | | |
| | | Mark Selby (2) | 4 | | | | |
| Jamie Wilson (ENG) | 1 | Mark Selby (2) | 4 | | | | |
| Mark Selby (ENG) (2) | 4 | | | | | | |

## Final

Final: Best of 17 frames. Referee: Rob Spencer Marshall Arena, Milton Keynes, England, 7 November 2021 :
| Neil Robertson (4) Australia | 9–8 | John Higgins (7) Scotland |
| Afternoon: 72–0, 80–24, 0–90, 51–66, 140–0 (140), 65–2, 16–68, 123–1 (123) Evening: 39–68, 0–89, 37–71, 43–74, 87–7, 18–71, 79–9, 121–1 (120), 74–22 |||
| 140 | Highest break | 90 |
| 3 | Century breaks | 0 |

## Qualifying

Qualification for the tournament took place from 17 to 22 September 2021 at the Metrodome in Barnsley, England. Matches which involved the top 16 players and two wildcard nominations were held over and played at the Marshall Arena. Zhou Yuelong and Zhang Jiankang were withdrawn from the event due to being identified as a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case; they were replaced by Ross Muir and Bai Langning respectively. Separately, Lei Peifan withdrew and was replaced by James Cahill. Cahill won his qualifying match but then he had to withdraw due to a positive COVID-19 test. Mark Williams was also withdrawn from the event after testing positive for COVID-19 in October; he was replaced by Mark Lloyd. Teenage amateurs Paul Deaville and Oliver Sykes played in their first professional events after receiving an invite from WST.
* Judd Trump (ENG) (1) 4–1 Matthew Selt (ENG)
* Jimmy Robertson (ENG) 4–0 Yuan Sijun (CHN)
* Xiao Guodong (CHN) 4–2 Alfie Burden (ENG)
* Sam Craigie (ENG) 3–4 Steven Hallworth (ENG)
* Anthony McGill (SCO) 4–1 Gao Yang (CHN)
* Gerard Greene (NIR) 4–1 Liam Highfield (ENG)
* Ross Muir (SCO) 4–1 Dean Young (SCO)
* Wu Yize (CHN) 4–3 Ashley Hugill (ENG)
* Alexander Ursenbacher (SUI) 4–2 Ben Hancorn (ENG)
* Tom Ford (ENG) 4–0 Sean Maddocks (ENG)
* Cao Yupeng (CHN) 4–0 Mitchell Mann (ENG)
* Stephen Maguire (SCO) (9) 3–4 Mark King (ENG)
* Xu Si (CHN) 4–2 Jamie Jones (WAL)
* Zhao Xintong (CHN) 4–1 Jimmy White (ENG)
* Chang Bingyu (CHN) 4–1 Dominic Dale (WAL)
* Mark Lloyd (ENG) 0–4 Paul Deaville (ENG)
* Kyren Wilson (ENG) (5) 4–0 Noppon Saengkham (THA)
* Ashley Carty (ENG) 4–2 Jordan Brown (NIR)
* Gary Wilson (ENG) 4–2 Craig Steadman (ENG)
* Ben Woollaston (ENG) 4–0 Jackson Page (WAL)
* Barry Hawkins (ENG) 4–1 Reanne Evans (ENG)
* Bai Langning (CHN) 2–4 Jak Jones (WAL)
* Joe Perry (ENG) 2–4 Soheil Vahedi (IRN)
* Robbie Williams (ENG) 4–0 Peter Lines (ENG)
* Lukas Kleckers (GER) 1–4 Mark Davis (ENG)
* Graeme Dott (SCO) 4–2 Farakh Ajaib (PAK)
* Fergal O'Brien (IRL) 4–0 Iulian Boiko (UKR)
* Stuart Bingham (ENG) 4–1 Ng On-yee (HKG)
* Sunny Akani (THA) 4–1 Ken Doherty (IRL)
* Ricky Walden (ENG) 4–0 Michael Judge (IRL)
* James Cahill (ENG) 4–2 Lee Walker (WAL)
* Neil Robertson (AUS) (4) 4–0 Andy Hicks (ENG)
* Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) (3) 4–1 David Lilley (ENG)
* Elliot Slessor (ENG) 1–4 Michael Georgiou (CYP)
* Liang Wenbo (CHN) 2–4 Rory McLeod (JAM)
* Anthony Hamilton (ENG) 4–2 Louis Heathcote (ENG)
* Jack Lisowski (ENG) 3–4 Mark Joyce (ENG)
* Jamie Clarke (WAL) 4–2 Zak Surety (ENG)
* Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (THA) 4–0 Jamie O'Neill (ENG)
* Matthew Stevens (WAL) 3–4 Peter Devlin (ENG)
* Li Hang (CHN) 4–1 Si Jiahui (CHN)
* Ali Carter (ENG) 4–1 Fan Zhengyi (CHN)
* Stuart Carrington (ENG) 4–2 Hammad Miah (ENG)
* Mark Allen (NIR) 1–4 Luca Brecel (BEL)
* Simon Lichtenberg (GER) 1–4 Fraser Patrick (SCO)
* Kurt Maflin (NOR) 1–4 Hossein Vafaei (IRN)
* Joe O'Connor (ENG) 4–1 Pang Junxu (CHN)
* Shaun Murphy (ENG) (6) 4–3 Duane Jones (WAL)
* John Higgins (SCO) (7) 4–1 Zhao Jianbo (CHN)
* Oliver Lines (ENG) 4–0 Zhang Anda (CHN)
* Ryan Day (WAL) 3–4 Lu Ning (CHN)
* Oliver Sykes (ENG) 1–4 Allan Taylor (ENG)
* Ding Junhui (CHN) 4–1 Andrew Pagett (WAL)
* Barry Pinches (ENG) 0–4 Tian Pengfei (CHN)
* Martin Gould (ENG) 4–0 Andrew Higginson (ENG)
* Ian Burns (ENG) 3–4 Scott Donaldson (SCO)
* Lyu Haotian (CHN) 3–4 Martin O'Donnell (ENG)
* David Gilbert (ENG) 4–2 David Grace (ENG)
* Nigel Bond (ENG) 4–1 Chen Zifan (CHN)
* Yan Bingtao (CHN) 4–1 Aaron Hill (IRL)
* Michael White (WAL) 1–4 Stephen Hendry (SCO)
* Michael Holt (ENG) 3–4 Chris Wakelin (ENG)
* Jamie Wilson (ENG) 4–0 Robert Milkins (ENG)
* Mark Selby (ENG) (2) 4–2 Sanderson Lam (ENG)