2021 WST Pro Series explained

Tournament Name:2021 WST Pro Series
Venue:Marshall Arena
Location:Milton Keynes
Country:England
Organisation:World Snooker Tour
Format:Ranking event
Total Prize Fund:£420,500
Winners Share:£20,000
Highest Break: (147)
Score:Round-Robin

The 2021 WST Pro Series was a professional ranking snooker tournament, taking place from 18 January to 21 March 2021 at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes, England. The event featured 128 players, and was played over three stages of round-robin groups of eight players, with the Final Group winner as the tournament champion.[1]

Seven-time World Champion, Stephen Hendry, was due to make his return to the professional snooker tour, having initially retired in 2012. However, he withdrew before the tournament began.[2]

Gary Wilson made his third career maximum break in the second frame of his Group G match with Liam Highfield.[3]

Mark Williams won the only edition of the event, winning the 23rd ranking title of his career on his 46th birthday, becoming the third oldest ranking event winner behind Welsh compatriots Doug Mountjoy who was 46 in 1989 and Ray Reardon who was 50 in 1982.

Tournament format

There were 128 players taking part in the event. In the tournament's first stage players were divided into 16 groups of each eight players, with the top two players of each group advancing to the second group stage. The tournament draw was conducted on 8 January 2021.

The second group stage consisted of four groups, also of each eight players, with the top two players of each group advancing to the final group.

The winner of the final group were crowned as tournament champion.

All matches were played as best of three frames, and players were ranked, using the following criteria:

  1. Matches won (Points scored)
  2. Frame difference
  3. Head-to-head match(es)
  4. Highest break

Prize fund

The breakdown of prize money for the tournament is shown below.

First group stage
Second group stage
Final group stage

First group stage

The first group stage consisted of 16 groups, each containing eight players, with the top two of each group advancing to the second group stage.[4]

Order of play

DateGroup
18 January
19 January Group B
20 January Group G
21 January Group C
22 January Group K
23 January Group A
24 January Group L
25 January Group N
DateGroup
9 March Group J
10 March Group H
11 March Group F
12 March Group D
13 March Group P
14 March Group E
15 March Group I
16 March Group O

Group A

Group A was played on 23 January 2021. Shaun Murphy and Louis Heathcote qualified for the Second Group stage.[5]

Matches

Table

width=20width=240Playerwidth=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20
1 7 7 0 14 5 +9 21
2 7 5 2 12 7 +5 15
3 7 5 2 11 6 +5 15
4 7 4 3 10 7 +3 12
5 7 3 4 8 10 −2 9
6 7 2 5 6 11 −5 6
7 7 2 5 6 11 −5 6
8 7 0 7 4 14 −10 0

Group B

Group B was played on 19 January 2021. Kyren Wilson and Sunny Akani qualified for stage two.[6]

Matches

Table

width=20width=240Playerwidth=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20
1 7 5 2 12 5 +7 15
2 7 5 2 10 5 +5 15
3 7 5 2 11 6 +5 15
4 7 4 3 10 9 +1 12
5 7 4 3 9 8 +1 12
6 7 3 4 8 10 −2 9
7 7 2 5 6 11 −5 6
8 7 0 7 2 14 −12 0

Aaron Hill was initially due to take part in Group B, but he withdrew and was replaced by Dean Young.

Group C

Group C was played on 21 January 2021. Stuart Bingham and Sam Craigie qualified for the Second Group stage.[7]

Matches

Table

width=20width=240Playerwidth=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20
1 7 7 0 14 0 +14 21
2 7 5 2 10 5 +5 15
3 7 4 3 9 8 +1 12
4 7 4 3 10 9 +1 12
5 7 3 4 7 9 −2 9
6 7 3 4 7 10 −3 9
7 7 2 5 6 11 −5 6
8 7 0 7 3 14 −11 0

Group D

Group D was played on 12 March 2021. Barry Hawkins and Ricky Walden qualified for the Second Group stage.[8]

Matches

Table

width=20width=240Playerwidth=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20
1 7 6 1 12 5 +7 18
2 7 6 1 13 6 +7 18
3 7 4 3 10 6 +4 12
4 7 3 4 8 9 −1 9
5 7 3 4 9 10 −1 9
6 7 2 5 7 10 −3 6
7 7 2 5 6 12 −6 6
8 7 2 5 5 12 −7 6

Group E

Group E was played on 14 March 2021. Mark Selby and Stuart Carrington qualified for the Second Group stage.[9]

Matches

Table

width=20width=240Playerwidth=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20
1 7 6 1 12 4 +8 18
2 7 5 2 11 5 +6 15
3 7 5 2 11 7 +4 15
4 7 4 3 11 7 +4 12
5 7 2 5 6 10 −4 6
6 7 2 5 7 11 −4 6
7 7 2 5 4 10 −6 6
8 7 2 5 4 12 −8 6

Group F

Group F was played on 11 March 2021. Ben Woollaston and Fergal O'Brien qualified for the Second Group stage.[10]

Matches

Table

width=20width=240Playerwidth=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20
1 7 5 2 12 5 +7 15
2 7 5 2 12 7 +5 15
3 7 4 3 10 8 +2 12
4 7 4 3 9 8 +1 12
5 7 4 3 9 9 0 12
6 7 3 4 8 8 0 9
7 7 2 5 5 12 −7 6
8 7 1 6 4 12 −8 3

Mark Allen was initially due to take part in Group F, but he withdrew and was replaced by Robbie McGuigan.

Group G

Group G was played on 20 January 2021. Lu Ning and Martin O'Donnellqualified for the Second Group stage.[11]

Matches

Table

width=20width=240Playerwidth=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20
1 7 5 2 11 5 +6 15
2 7 5 2 11 6 +5 15
3 7 4 3 10 7 +3 12
4 7 4 3 8 8 0 12
5 7 4 3 10 10 0 12
6 7 3 4 6 9 −3 9
7 7 2 5 7 11 −4 6
8 7 1 6 6 13 −7 3

Stephen Hendry was initially due to take part in Group G, but he withdrew and was replaced by John Astley.

Group H

Group H was played on 10 March 2021. Ali Carter and Mark Davis qualified for the second Group stage.[12]

Matches

Table

width=20width=240Playerwidth=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20
1 7 6 1 12 3 +9 18
2 7 5 2 10 4 +6 15
3 7 5 2 10 6 +4 15
4 7 4 3 9 9 0 12
5 7 3 4 8 9 −1 9
6 7 3 4 8 11 −3 9
7 7 2 5 6 10 −4 6
8 7 0 7 3 14 −11 0

Yan Bingtao and Amine Amiri were initially due to take part in Group H, but they withdrew and were replaced by Hamim Hussain and Dylan Emery respectively.

Group I

Group I was played on 15 March 2021. Ben Hancorn and Lyu Haotian qualified for the Second Group stage.[13]

Matches

Table

width=20width=240Playerwidth=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20
1 7 6 1 13 5 +8 18
2 7 6 1 12 4 +8 18
3 7 3 4 9 9 0 9
4 7 3 4 9 10 −1 9
5 7 3 4 7 8 −2 9
6 7 3 4 7 11 −4 9
7 7 2 5 6 10 −4 6
8 7 2 5 6 11 −5 6

Group J

Group J was played on 9 March 2021. Oliver Lines and James Cahill qualified for the Second Group stage.[14]

Matches

Table

width=20width=240Playerwidth=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20
1 7 6 1 12 4 +8 18
2 7 6 1 12 7 +5 18
3 7 4 3 10 7 +3 12
4 7 4 3 10 8 +2 12
5 7 4 3 9 9 0 12
6 7 2 5 7 11 −4 6
7 7 1 6 5 12 −7 3
8 7 1 6 5 12 −7 3

Group K

Group K was played on 22 January 2021. Zhao Xintong and Dominic Dale qualified for the Second Group stage.[15]

Matches

Table

width=20width=240Playerwidth=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20
1 7 5 2 12 5 +7 15
2 7 4 3 10 8 +2 12
3 7 4 3 10 8 +2 12
4 7 3 4 8 8 0 9
5 7 3 4 8 10 −2 9
6 7 3 4 7 9 −2 9
7 7 3 4 7 10 −3 9
8 7 3 4 6 10 −4 9

Group L

Group L was played on 24 January 2021. Luo Honghao and Zhou Yuelong qualified for the Second Group stage.[16]

Matches

Table

width=20width=240Playerwidth=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20
1 7 6 1 12 5 +7 18
2 7 5 2 10 5 +5 15
3 7 3 4 8 8 0 9
4 7 3 4 9 9 0 9
5 7 3 4 8 10 −2 9
6 7 3 4 7 10 −3 9
7 7 3 4 7 10 −3 9
8 7 2 5 6 10 −4 6

Group M

Group M was played on 18 January 2021. Joe Perry and Xiao Guodong qualified for the Second Group stage.[17]

Matches

Table

width=20width=240Playerwidth=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20
1 7 6 1 13 6 +7 18
2 7 5 2 12 4 +8 15
3 7 4 3 10 6 +4 12
4 7 4 3 9 8 +1 12
5 7 3 4 8 9 −1 9
6 7 3 4 7 9 −2 9
7 7 3 4 6 9 −3 9
8 7 0 7 0 14 −14 0

Group N

Group N was played on 25 January 2021. Jack Lisowski and Luca Brecel qualified for the Second Group stage.[18]

Matches

Table

width=20width=240Playerwidth=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20
1 7 5 2 11 7 +4 15
2 7 5 2 12 8 +4 15
3 7 5 2 11 7 +4 15
4 7 4 3 11 9 +2 12
5 7 4 3 10 8 +2 12
6 7 3 4 10 9 +1 9
7 7 2 5 7 11 −4 6
8 7 0 7 1 14 −13 0

Group O

Group O was played on 16 March 2021. Judd Trump and Ryan Day qualified for the Second Group stage.[19]

Matches

Table

width=20width=240Playerwidth=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20
1 7 6 1 12 4 +8 18
2 7 5 2 11 4 +7 15
3 7 5 2 10 7 +3 15
4 7 4 3 11 10 +1 12
5 7 4 3 9 9 0 12
6 7 2 5 8 10 −2 6
7 7 2 5 5 11 −6 6
8 7 0 7 3 14 −11 0

Group P

Group P was played on 13 March 2021. Mark Williams and Robert Milkins qualified for the Second Group stage.[20]

Matches

Table

width=20width=240Playerwidth=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20
1 7 6 1 12 2 +10 18
2 7 6 1 12 3 +9 18
3 7 4 3 9 7 +2 12
4 7 4 3 9 8 +1 12
5 7 4 3 8 8 0 12
6 7 2 5 5 12 −7 6
7 7 1 6 5 12 −7 3
8 7 1 6 4 12 −8 3

Kurt Maflin and Alex Borg were initially due to take part in Group P, but they withdrew and were replaced by Alex Clenshaw and Florian Nüßle respectively.

Second group stage

The second group stage consisted of four groups, each containing eight players, with the top two of each group advancing to the final group.[21]

Order of play

DateGroup
17 March Group 1
18 March Group 2
19 March Group 3
20 March Group 4

Group 1

Group 1 was played on 17 March 2021. Ali Carter and Mark Williams qualified for the Final Group Stage.[22]

Matches

Table

width=20width=240Playerwidth=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20
1 7 6 1 12 4 +8 18
2 7 5 2 12 6 +6 15
3 7 5 2 11 6 +5 15
4 7 5 2 12 8 +4 15
5 7 2 5 7 11 −4 6
6 7 2 5 7 12 −5 6
7 7 2 5 5 11 −6 6
8 7 1 6 4 12 −8 3

Group 2

Group 2 was played on 18 March 2021. Kyren Wilson and Xiao Guodong qualified for the Final Group Stage.[23]

Matches

Table

width=20width=240Playerwidth=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20
1 7 5 2 12 6 +6 15
2 7 5 2 12 6 +6 15
3 7 5 2 12 8 +4 15
4 7 4 3 11 8 +3 12
5 7 3 4 10 12 −2 9
6 7 3 4 7 10 −3 9
7 7 2 5 7 12 −5 6
8 7 1 6 4 13 −9 3

Group 3

Group 3 was played on 19 March 2021. Sam Craigie and Jack Lisowski qualified for the final Group stage.[24]

Matches

Table

width=20width=240Playerwidth=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20
1 7 5 2 11 5 +6 15
2 7 5 2 11 8 +3 15
3 7 5 2 11 8 +3 15
4 7 4 3 9 7 +2 12
5 7 4 3 9 8 +1 12
6 7 2 5 7 11 −4 6
7 7 2 5 7 11 −4 6
8 7 1 6 5 12 −7 3

Group 4

Group 4 was played on 20 March 2021. Judd Trump and Stuart Bingham qualified for the final Group stage.[25]

Matches

Table

width=20width=240Playerwidth=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20
1 7 6 1 12 6 +6 18
2 7 5 2 11 5 +6 15
3 7 4 3 9 7 +2 12
4 7 4 3 8 9 −1 12
5 7 3 4 8 8 0 9
6 7 3 4 9 10 −1 9
7 7 2 5 8 12 −4 6
8 7 1 6 5 13 −8 3

Final group stage

The final group stage also consisted of eight players, and took place on 21 March 2021, with the group winner as the tournament champion.[26] Mark Williams finished top and won the title, with Ali Carter finishing as runner-up and Sam Craigie in third place.[27]

Matches

Table

width=20width=240Playerwidth=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20width=20
1 7 6 1 13 5 +8 18
2 7 5 2 12 5 +7 15
3 7 5 2 11 6 +5 15
4 7 4 3 8 6 +2 12
5 7 4 3 8 8 0 12
6 7 3 4 7 10 −3 9
7 7 1 6 5 13 −8 3
8 7 0 7 3 14 −11 0
Key:P=Matchesplayed; W=Matcheswon; L=Matcheslost; FW=Frameswon; FL=Frameslost; FD=Framedifference

Century breaks

A total of 146 century breaks were made during the tournament.[28]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: WST Pro Series Draw. https://web.archive.org/web/20210108201934/https://wst.tv/wst-pro-series-draw/. dead. January 8, 2021. World Snooker Tour. 8 January 2021.
  2. Web site: Hendry Withdraws From WST Pro Series. https://web.archive.org/web/20210115153631/https://wst.tv/hendry-withdraws-from-wst-pro-series/. dead. January 15, 2021. World Snooker Tour. 15 January 2021.
  3. Web site: https://wst.tv/gary-wilson-makes-147-2/. https://web.archive.org/web/20210121003236/https://wst.tv/gary-wilson-makes-147-2/. dead. January 21, 2021. Gary Wilson Makes 147. World Snooker Tour. 20 January 2021.
  4. Web site: https://wst.tv/wst-pro-series-new-format/. https://web.archive.org/web/20201224125657/https://wst.tv/wst-pro-series-new-format/. dead. December 24, 2020. Wst Pro Series – New Format. World Snooker Tour. 24 December 2020.
  5. Web site: Magic Murphy Progresses. https://web.archive.org/web/20210128194354/https://wst.tv/magic-murphy-progresses/. dead. January 28, 2021. World Snooker Tour. 23 January 2021.
  6. Web site: Sunny Delight – And Kyren Shows Class. https://web.archive.org/web/20210119233231/https://wst.tv/sunny-delight-and-kyren-shows-class/. dead. January 19, 2021. World Snooker . 19 January 2021.
  7. Web site: Bingham In Seventh Heaven. https://web.archive.org/web/20210122013222/https://wst.tv/bingham-in-seventh-heaven/. dead. January 22, 2021. World Snooker Tour. 21 January 2021.
  8. Web site: Resurgent Hawkins Tops Group. https://web.archive.org/web/20210312233229/https://wst.tv/hawkins-and-walden-into-phase-two/. dead. March 12, 2021. World Snooker Tour. 12 March 2021.
  9. Web site: Selby Clinches Second Phase Spot. https://web.archive.org/web/20210315023254/https://wst.tv/selby-clinches-second-phase-spot/. dead. March 15, 2021. World Snooker Tour. 14 March 2021.
  10. Web site: O'Brien Delight Despite 147 Blunder. https://web.archive.org/web/20210312023235/https://wst.tv/obrien-delight-despite-147-blunder/. dead. March 12, 2021. World Snooker Tour. 11 March 2021.
  11. Web site: Lu And O’Donnell Top Group G. https://web.archive.org/web/20210121023248/https://wst.tv/lu-and-odonnell-top-group-g/. dead. January 21, 2021. World Snooker Tour. 20 January 2021.
  12. Web site: Carter And Davis Advance. https://web.archive.org/web/20210311122243/https://wst.tv/carter-and-davis-advance/. dead. March 11, 2021. World Snooker Tour. 10 March 2021.
  13. Web site: Hancorn Secures Surprise Top Spot. World Snooker Tour. 15 March 2021.
  14. Web site: Oli Beats Dad – And Tops Group. https://web.archive.org/web/20210310003237/https://wst.tv/oli-beats-dad-and-tops-group/. dead. March 10, 2021. World Snooker . 9 March 2021.
  15. Web site: Spaceman Soars/. https://web.archive.org/web/20210123033222/https://wst.tv/spaceman-soars/. dead. January 23, 2021. World Snooker Tour. 22 January 2021.
  16. Web site: Luo And Zhou Through . https://web.archive.org/web/20210125023426/https://wst.tv/luo%2Dand%2Dzhou%2Dthrough/. dead. January 25, 2021. World Snooker Tour. 24 January 2021.
  17. Web site: Perry and Xiao Top Group. https://web.archive.org/web/20210119083326/https://wst.tv/perry-and-xiao-top-group/. dead. January 19, 2021. World Snooker Tour. 18 January 2021.
  18. Web site: https://wst.tv/lisowski-and-brecel-progress/. https://web.archive.org/web/20210126144906/https://wst.tv/lisowski-and-brecel-progress/. dead. January 26, 2021. Lisowski And Brecel Progress. World Snooker . 25 January 2021.
  19. Web site: https://wst.tv/trump-reaches-second-phase/. https://web.archive.org/web/20211129113909/https://wst.tv/trump-reaches-second-phase/. dead. November 29, 2021. Trump Reaches Second Phase. World Snooker Tour. 16 March 2021.
  20. Web site: https://wst.tv/williams-tops-group-p/. https://web.archive.org/web/20210314020238/https://wst.tv/williams-tops-group-p/. dead. March 14, 2021. Williams Tops Group P. World Snooker Tour. 13 March 2021.
  21. Web site: https://wst.tv/wst-pro-series-second-phase-schedule/. https://web.archive.org/web/20210312155532/https://wst.tv/wst-pro-series-second-phase-schedule/. dead. March 12, 2021. WST Pro Series Second Phase Schedule. World Snooker Tour. 12 March 2021.
  22. Web site: https://wst.tv/captain-flies-through/. https://web.archive.org/web/20210318013243/https://wst.tv/captain-flies-through/. dead. March 18, 2021. Captain Flies Through. World Snooker Tour. 17 March 2021.
  23. Web site: https://wst.tv/wilson-and-xiao-reach-final-group/. https://web.archive.org/web/20210319013243/https://wst.tv/wilson-and-xiao-reach-final-group/. dead. March 19, 2021. Wilson and Xiao Reach Final Group. World Snooker Tour. 18 March 2021.
  24. Web site: https://wst.tv/craigie-steals-top-spot/. https://web.archive.org/web/20210320003233/https://wst.tv/craigie-steals-top-spot/. dead. March 20, 2021. Craigie Steals Top Spot. World Snooker Tour. 19 March 2021.
  25. Web site: Trump and Bingham Advance . https://web.archive.org/web/20210321152011/https://wst.tv/trump-and-bingham-advance/ . dead . March 21, 2021 . World Snooker Tour . 20 March 2021.
  26. Web site: https://snookerhq.com/2021/03/21/wst-pro-series-final-group-draw/. WST Pro Series Final Group Draw. SnookerHQ. 20 March 2021.
  27. Web site: https://wst.tv/perfect-williams-ends-title-drought/. https://web.archive.org/web/20210321220003/https://wst.tv/perfect-williams-ends-title-drought/. dead. March 21, 2021. Perfect Williams Ends Title Drought. World Snooker Tour. 21 March 2021.
  28. Web site: WST Pro Series 2021 Centuries. World Snooker Tour. 18 January – 21 March 2021. 18 January 2021. 26 January 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210126041505/http://livescores.worldsnookerdata.com/Centuries/CenturyBreaks/14178/wst-pro-series-2021-phase-one-groups-1-8. dead.