# 2023 Welsh Open (snooker)

The 2023 Welsh Open (officially the 2023 BetVictor Welsh Open) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 13 to 19 February 2023 at Venue Cymru in Llandudno, Wales, marking the first time since the event's inception in 1992 that it was staged elsewhere than Newport or Cardiff. Qualifiers took place from 11 to 13 January 2023 at the Metrodome in Barnsley, although matches involving the top 16 players in the world rankings, as well as matches involving two Welsh wild-card entrants, were held over and played at the final venue. Organised by the World Snooker Tour and sponsored by online betting company BetVictor, the tournament was broadcast by BBC Cymru Wales and the BBC Red Button domestically, by Eurosport in Europe, and by multiple other broadcasters internationally. The winner received £80,000 from a total prize fund of £427,000.
The 11th ranking event of the 2022–23 season, the Welsh Open was the fourth and final tournament in the season's Home Nations Series, following the Northern Ireland Open, the Scottish Open, and the English Open. It was also the final tournament in the season's BetVictor Series, which carried a £150,000 bonus for the player who won the most cumulative prize money across its eight events. Matches were played as the best of seven frames until the quarter-finals, which were the best of nine frames. The semi-finals were the best of 11 frames and the final was the best of 17 frames.
Joe Perry was the defending champion, having defeated Judd Trump 9–5 in the 2022 final, but he lost 1–4 to Robbie Williams in the last 32. Robert Milkins defeated Shaun Murphy 9–7 in the final to win his second ranking title, and also secured the BetVictor Series bonus, having won cumulative prize money of £127,000 across the eight tournaments. He advanced from 27th to 16th place in the world rankings after the event.
The event's main stage produced a total of 48 century breaks. Murphy made back-to-back breaks of 145 and 147, the highest of the tournament, in the second and third frames of his last-16 match against Daniel Wells. The 147 was Murphy's seventh maximum break in professional competition.

## Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for this event is shown below:
* Winner: £80,000
* Runner-up: £35,000
* Semi-final: £17,500
* Quarter-final: £11,000
* Last 16: £7,500
* Last 32: £4,500
* Last 64: £3,000
* Highest break: £5,000
* Total: £427,000

## 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 |
| Joe Perry (ENG) (1) | 4 | | | | | | |
| Mark Joyce (ENG) | 1 | | | | | | |
| Mark Joyce (ENG) | 1 | Joe Perry (1) | 1 | | | | |
| | | Robbie Williams | 4 | | | | |
| Liam Davies (WAL) | 0 | Robbie Williams | 4 | | | | |
| Robbie Williams (ENG) | 4 | | | | | | |
| Robbie Williams (ENG) | 4 | | | Robbie Williams | 0 | | |
| | | | | Joe O'Connor | 4 | | |
| Stuart Carrington (ENG) | 4 | | | Joe O'Connor | 4 | | |
| Andy Lee (HKG) | 2 | | | | | | |
| Andy Lee (HKG) | 2 | Stuart Carrington | 0 | | | | |
| | | Joe O'Connor | 4 | | | | |
| Graeme Dott (SCO) | 2 | Joe O'Connor | 4 | | | | |
| Joe O'Connor (ENG) | 4 | | | | | | |
| Joe O'Connor (ENG) | 4 | | | | | Joe O'Connor | 4 |
| | | | | | | Pang Junxu | 5 |
| Hammad Miah (ENG) | 2 | | | | | Pang Junxu | 5 |
| Aaron Hill (IRL) | 4 | | | | | | |
| Aaron Hill (IRL) | 4 | Aaron Hill | 1 | | | | |
| | | Pang Junxu | 4 | | | | |
| Pang Junxu (CHN) | 4 | Pang Junxu | 4 | | | | |
| Kyren Wilson (ENG) (9) | 2 | | | | | | |
| Kyren Wilson (ENG) (9) | 2 | | | Pang Junxu | 4 | | |
| | | | | Jak Jones | 2 | | |
| Julien Leclercq (BEL) | 4 | | | Jak Jones | 2 | | |
| Jordan Brown (NIR) (24) | 2 | | | | | | |
| Jordan Brown (NIR) (24) | 2 | Julien Leclercq | 2 | | | | |
| | | Jak Jones | 4 | | | | |
| Jak Jones (WAL) | 4 | Jak Jones | 4 | | | | |
| Mark Williams (WAL) (8) | 3 | | | | | | | | |
| Mark Williams (WAL) (8) | 3 | | | | | | | Pang Junxu | 3 |
| | | | | | | | | Shaun Murphy (11) | 6 |
| Judd Trump (ENG) (5) | 4 | | | | | | | Shaun Murphy (11) | 6 |
| Louis Heathcote (ENG) | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| Louis Heathcote (ENG) | 2 | Judd Trump (5) | 2 | | | | | | |
| | | Daniel Wells | 4 | | | | | | |
| Matthew Selt (ENG) (27) | 1 | Daniel Wells | 4 | | | | | | |
| Daniel Wells (WAL) | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| Daniel Wells (WAL) | 4 | | | Daniel Wells | 1 | | | | |
| | | | | Shaun Murphy (11) | 4 | | | | |
| Shaun Murphy (ENG) (11) | 4 | | | Shaun Murphy (11) | 4 | | | | |
| Peng Yisong (CHN) | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| Peng Yisong (CHN) | 1 | Shaun Murphy (11) | 4 | | | | | | |
| | | Anthony McGill (20) | 2 | | | | | | |
| Anthony McGill (SCO) (20) | 4 | Anthony McGill (20) | 2 | | | | | | |
| Sam Craigie (ENG) | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| Sam Craigie (ENG) | 2 | | | | | Shaun Murphy (11) | 5 | | |
| | | | | | | Yuan Sijun | 0 |
| David Lilley (ENG) | 4 | | | | | Yuan Sijun | 0 |
| Ricky Walden (ENG) (19) | 1 | | | | | | |
| Ricky Walden (ENG) (19) | 1 | David Lilley | 2 | | | | |
| | | Jack Lisowski (12) | 4 | | | | |
| Ryan Thomerson (AUS) | 0 | Jack Lisowski (12) | 4 | | | | |
| Jack Lisowski (ENG) (12) | 4 | | | | | | |
| Jack Lisowski (ENG) (12) | 4 | | | Jack Lisowski (12) | 1 | | |
| | | | | Yuan Sijun | 4 | | |
| Yuan Sijun (CHN) | 4 | | | Yuan Sijun | 4 | | |
| Stephen Maguire (SCO) (28) | 1 | | | | | | |
| Stephen Maguire (SCO) (28) | 1 | Yuan Sijun | 4 | | | | |
| | | Dominic Dale | 1 | | | | |
| Dominic Dale (WAL) | 4 | Dominic Dale | 1 | | | | |
| Neil Robertson (AUS) (4) | 0 | | | | | | |

### 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 |
| Mark Selby (ENG) (3) | 4 | | | | | | |
| Si Jiahui (CHN) | 3 | | | | | | |
| Si Jiahui (CHN) | 3 | Mark Selby (3) | 2 | | | | |
| | | Robert Milkins (30) | 4 | | | | |
| Robert Milkins (ENG) (30) | 4 | Robert Milkins (30) | 4 | | | | |
| Dean Young (SCO) | 2 | | | | | | |
| Dean Young (SCO) | 2 | | | Robert Milkins (30) | 4 | | |
| | | | | Hossein Vafaei (18) | 1 | | |
| Barry Hawkins (ENG) (13) | 4 | | | Hossein Vafaei (18) | 1 | | |
| Ben Woollaston (ENG) | 0 | | | | | | |
| Ben Woollaston (ENG) | 0 | Barry Hawkins (13) | 3 | | | | |
| | | Hossein Vafaei (18) | 4 | | | | |
| Hossein Vafaei (IRN) (18) | 4 | Hossein Vafaei (18) | 4 | | | | |
| Ken Doherty (IRL) | 1 | | | | | | |
| Ken Doherty (IRL) | 1 | | | | | Robert Milkins (30) | 5 |
| | | | | | | Mark Allen (6) | 1 |
| Cao Yupeng (CHN) | 4 | | | | | Mark Allen (6) | 1 |
| Ding Junhui (CHN) (21) | 0 | | | | | | |
| Ding Junhui (CHN) (21) | 0 | Cao Yupeng | 1 | | | | |
| | | Luca Brecel (10) | 4 | | | | |
| Elliot Slessor (ENG) | 0 | Luca Brecel (10) | 4 | | | | |
| Luca Brecel (BEL) (10) | 4 | | | | | | |
| Luca Brecel (BEL) (10) | 4 | | | Luca Brecel (10) | 2 | | |
| | | | | Mark Allen (6) | 4 | | |
| Andy Hicks (ENG) | 4 | | | Mark Allen (6) | 4 | | |
| Wu Yize (CHN) | 3 | | | | | | |
| Wu Yize (CHN) | 3 | Andy Hicks | 1 | | | | |
| | | Mark Allen (6) | 4 | | | | |
| Mitchell Mann (ENG) | 1 | Mark Allen (6) | 4 | | | | |
| Mark Allen (NIR) (6) | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| Mark Allen (NIR) (6) | 4 | | | | | | | Robert Milkins (30) | 6 |
| | | | | | | | | Tian Pengfei | 2 |
| John Higgins (SCO) (7) | 4 | | | | | | | Tian Pengfei | 2 |
| Martin Gould (ENG) | 0 | | | | | | | | |
| Martin Gould (ENG) | 0 | John Higgins (7) | 4 | | | | | | |
| | | Sanderson Lam | 3 | | | | | | |
| Mohamed Ibrahim (EGY) | 2 | Sanderson Lam | 3 | | | | | | |
| Sanderson Lam (ENG) | 4 | | | | | | | | |
| Sanderson Lam (ENG) | 4 | | | John Higgins (7) | 1 | | | | |
| | | | | Tian Pengfei | 4 | | | | |
| Tian Pengfei (CHN) | 4 | | | Tian Pengfei | 4 | | | | |
| Jimmy White (ENG) | 2 | | | | | | | | |
| Jimmy White (ENG) | 2 | Tian Pengfei | 4 | | | | | | |
| | | Ali Carter (22) | 2 | | | | | | |
| Ali Carter (ENG) (22) | 4 | Ali Carter (22) | 2 | | | | | | |
| Ian Martin (ENG) | 1 | | | | | | | | |
| Ian Martin (ENG) | 1 | | | | | Tian Pengfei | 5 | | |
| | | | | | | Ronnie O'Sullivan (2) | 0 |
| Chris Wakelin (ENG) | 2 | | | | | Ronnie O'Sullivan (2) | 0 |
| David Gilbert (ENG) (17) | 4 | | | | | | |
| David Gilbert (ENG) (17) | 4 | David Gilbert (17) | 3 | | | | |
| | | Ben Mertens | 4 | | | | |
| Ben Mertens (BEL) | 4 | Ben Mertens | 4 | | | | |
| Jackson Page (WAL) | 2 | | | | | | |
| Jackson Page (WAL) | 2 | | | Ben Mertens | 0 | | |
| | | | | Ronnie O'Sullivan (2) | 4 | | |
| Matthew Stevens (WAL) | 3 | | | Ronnie O'Sullivan (2) | 4 | | |
| Rod Lawler (ENG) | 4 | | | | | | |
| Rod Lawler (ENG) | 4 | Rod Lawler | 0 | | | | |
| | | Ronnie O'Sullivan (2) | 4 | | | | |
| Ross Muir (SCO) | 3 | Ronnie O'Sullivan (2) | 4 | | | | |
| Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) (2) | 4 | | | | | | |

### Final

Final: Best of 17 frames. Referee: John Pellew Venue Cymru, Llandudno, Wales, 19 February 2023 :
| Shaun Murphy (11) England | 7–9 | Robert Milkins (30) England |
| Afternoon: 61–58, 62–25, 47–67, 70–28, 7–116, 58–68, 27–66, 111–6 Evening: 19–71, 99–0, 62–69, 5–72, 65–16, 0–75, 114–0 (114), 11–72 |||
| 114 | Highest break | 66 |
| 1 | Century breaks | 0 |

## Qualifying

Qualification for the tournament took place from 11 to 13 January 2023 at the Metrodome in Barnsley, England.

### Main qualifying

* Himanshu Jain (IND) 0–4 Mark Joyce (ENG)
* Jenson Kendrick (ENG) 2–4 Andy Lee (HKG)
* Gary Wilson (ENG) 3–4 Graeme Dott (SCO)
* Muhammad Asif (PAK) 1–4 Joe O'Connor (ENG)
* Zak Surety (ENG) 3–4 Hammad Miah (ENG)
* Tom Ford (ENG) 1–4 Aaron Hill (IRL)
* Pang Junxu (CHN) 4–3 Xu Si (CHN)
* Julien Leclercq (BEL) 4–0 Duane Jones (WAL)
* Jordan Brown (NIR) 4–1 Steven Hallworth (ENG)
* Rebecca Kenna (ENG) 0–4 Jak Jones (WAL)
* James Cahill (ENG) 1–4 Louis Heathcote (ENG)
* Matthew Selt (ENG) 4–2 Adam Duffy (ENG)
* Daniel Wells (WAL) 4–2 Dechawat Poomjaeng (THA)
* Peng Yisong (CHN) 4–1 Reanne Evans (ENG)
* Anthony McGill (SCO) 4–3 Lukas Kleckers (GER)
* Mink Nutcharut (THA) 1–4 Sam Craigie (ENG)
* David Lilley (ENG) 4–3 Jamie Clarke (WAL)
* Ricky Walden (ENG) 4–2 Liam Highfield (ENG)
* Ryan Thomerson (AUS) 4–2 Andrew Pagett (WAL)
* Peter Lines (ENG) 1–4 Yuan Sijun (CHN)
* Stephen Maguire (SCO) 4–1 Michael Judge (IRL)
* Farakh Ajaib (PAK) 1–4 Dominic Dale (WAL)
* Si Jiahui (CHN) 4–0 Xiao Guodong (CHN)
* Robert Milkins (ENG) 4–2 Oliver Brown (ENG)
* Dean Young (SCO) 4–3 Gerard Greene (NIR)
* Allan Taylor (ENG) 0–4 Ben Woollaston (ENG)
* Ken Doherty (IRL) 4–3 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (THA)
* Cao Yupeng (CHN) 4–1 Scott Donaldson (SCO)
* Ding Junhui (CHN) 4–0 Ashley Hugill (ENG)
* Elliot Slessor (ENG) 4–0 Dylan Emery (WAL)
* Andy Hicks (ENG) 4–2 Ng On-yee (HKG)
* Zhou Yuelong (CHN) 0–4 Wu Yize (CHN)
* Lei Peifan (CHN) 1–4 Mitchell Mann (ENG)
* Fergal O'Brien (IRL) 2–4 Martin Gould (ENG)
* Jimmy Robertson (ENG) 3–4 Mohamed Ibrahim (EGY)
* Sanderson Lam (ENG) 4–2 Anthony Hamilton (ENG)
* Jimmy White (ENG) 4–0 Craig Steadman (ENG)
* Ali Carter (ENG) 4–2 John Astley (ENG)
* Andres Petrov (EST) 3–4 Ian Martin (ENG)
* Mark Davis (ENG) 1–4 Chris Wakelin (ENG)
* Barry Pinches (ENG) 0–4 Ben Mertens (BEL)
* Matthew Stevens (WAL) 4–1 Fan Zhengyi (CHN)
* Jamie Jones (WAL) 2–4 Rod Lawler (ENG)
* Anton Kazakov (UKR) 1–4 Ross Muir (SCO)

### Held-over matches

Matches involving the top 16 seeds and the nominated wild-card players were played at the Venue Cymru. Due to David Gilbert and Hossein Vafaei being late replacements for the 2023 Masters, their matches were also held-over, due to clashing with the scheduled qualifying slot.
* Joe Perry (ENG) (1) 4–0 Mark King (ENG)
* Noppon Saengkham (THA) 3–4 Liam Davies (WAL)
* Oliver Briffett-Payne (WAL) 1–4 Robbie Williams (ENG)
* Ryan Day (WAL) 3–4 Stuart Carrington (ENG)
* Kyren Wilson (ENG) (9) 4–1 Asjad Iqbal (PAK)
* Mark Williams (WAL) (8) 4–2 Michael White (WAL)
* Judd Trump (ENG) (5) 4–0 David Grace (ENG)
* Shaun Murphy (ENG) 4–0 Victor Sarkis (BRA)
* Jack Lisowski (ENG) 4–0 Zhang Anda (CHN)
* Neil Robertson (AUS) (4) 4–1 Andrew Higginson (ENG)
* Mark Selby (ENG) (3) 4–2 Jamie O'Neill (ENG)
* Barry Hawkins (ENG) 4–1 Ian Burns (ENG)
* Hossein Vafaei (IRN) 4–2 Lyu Haotian (CHN)
* Luca Brecel (BEL) 4–1 Sean O'Sullivan (ENG)
* Mark Allen (NIR) (6) 4–1 Alfie Burden (ENG)
* John Higgins (SCO) (7) 4–0 Alexander Ursenbacher (CHE)
* Michael Holt (ENG) 1–4 Tian Pengfei (CHN)
* Stuart Bingham (ENG) 1–4 Jackson Page (WAL)
* David Gilbert (ENG) 4–2 Marco Fu (HKG)
* Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) (2) 4–0 Oliver Lines (ENG)

## Century breaks
### Main stage centuries

A total of 48 century breaks were made during the main event.
* 147, 145, 134, 114, 102, 100 – Shaun Murphy
* 142, 113, 110 – David Gilbert
* 138 – Jack Lisowski
* 137, 115, 109 – Robert Milkins
* 135, 112, 101 – John Higgins
* 134, 114 – David Lilley
* 133, 102, 100 – Hossein Vafaei
* 133 – Marco Fu
* 131, 105 – Jackson Page
* 130 – Ben Mertens
* 129 – Neil Robertson
* 125, 116 – Robbie Williams
* 124, 124 – Mark Selby
* 124 – Ali Carter
* 124 – Pang Junxu
* 122 – Mark Williams
* 122 – Liam Davies
* 114 – Sanderson Lam
* 108, 100 – Ronnie O'Sullivan
* 108 – Joe O'Connor
* 107 – Joe Perry
* 105, 101 – Mark Allen
* 105 – Si Jiahui
* 104 – Asjad Iqbal
* 102 – Andy Lee
* 102 – Wu Yize
* 101 – Daniel Wells
* 100 – Luca Brecel
* 100 – Yuan Sijun

### Qualifying stage centuries

A total of 14 century breaks were made during the qualifying stage for the event.
* 142 – Elliot Slessor
* 139 – Stephen Maguire
* 138, 108 – Ricky Walden
* 136 – Ben Woollaston
* 127 – Sam Craigie
* 117 – Martin Gould
* 112 – Scott Donaldson
* 105 – Jak Jones
* 104 – Andrew Pagett
* 102 – Mitchell Mann
* 102 – Daniel Wells
* 100 – Steven Hallworth
* 100 – Fergal O'Brien