Mark Selby has pulled out of China Open with a neck injury

The World Number One Mark Selby has pulled out of China Open due to neck injury. 

Mark Selby

Selby is going to play the local hero Ding Junhui in last 16 today but announced his withdrawal due to neck injury. Ding Junhui is therefore received a bye to quarter-finals, he will play either Ali Carter or Lu Ning next. Ali Carter v Lu Ning will replace Selby v Ding watch to be televised.

Selby said: "I'm absolutely gutted to have to pull out and to let down the Chinese fans as I was really looking forward to playing Ding tonight. But I have been suffering with neck pain and I struggled through my first round match. I don't want to do any more damage, especially with the World Championship coming up, so I'm going back to the UK to get some treatment. I look forward to coming back to China soon as I love playing here."

Meanwhile, Ronnie O'Sullivan beaten Mark Williams by 5-1 to make quarter-finals, playing Stephen Maguire next who saw off Ricky Walden in decider. Judd Trump came from 2-3 behind to beat Stuart Bingham by 5-3 while Stephen Lee continued his good form, winning 5-3 over Graeme Dott.


China Open 2012 Results/Draw, Live Streaming & Match/TV Schedule

In my eyes... 2011 China Open

Okay I know it's a little bit late to pose it up but it's my first article i wrote for snooker! :-)

Judd Trump - 2011 China Open Champion

As you know, Judd Trump became 2011 China Open Champion by beating Mark Selby 10-8. It was also his first ranking title in his career. He gained 7000 ranking points and probably will become one of the elite top16 seeds next season. congratulations!

Judd did a really good job in the final. His long pottings were stunning and played fluently. It made his match against Neil Robertson in the Crucible later this month looks more interesting.

Though 'The Jester from Leicester' Mark Selby lost to Judd, his performance deserves to be praise. I truely believe more ranking titles will be added to Selby. Credits should go to both players! Each each of the players had completed three centuries in the intense final. What a wonderful final it was!

Apart from the final, I think crowd interruptions were quite serious during the tournament. Mobile phones went off seldomly and cameras were flashing. It is quite distracting for both the players and referees to concentrate. China holds two ranking events each year along with some invitation event. However, standard of Chinese crowds are not high at all. Chinese crowd should try to provide a quiet environment when undergoing matches.

Overall, it is a very high standard tournament. We saw some 'suprising' performances in early rounds, including Wildcard player Li Hang. He defeated two World Champions Ken Dohery & Graeme Dott to enter Last 16, eventually lost to Shaun Murphy in quarter final. Performance of Li was impressive and I would like to see more from young Chinese players.

In-form Stephen Lee! :-)

Another player will be Stephen Lee, he played extrodinary well in R1 against defending Champion, Mark Williams. It's a pity for superb Williams to lose despite he made four centuries out of four frames he won. That match displayed good safeties and scoring. I consider it as the best of 9 match I've watched recent years! :-)

O'Sullivan once again disappointed me by his rusted performance. I am not sure if he can get through to last 16 in the Crucible. Jimmy White withdrew from the tournament due to visa problems must be another disappoinment for snooker fans in China.

I'm still glad to see how snooker and players are so popular among Chinese crowds.

My pick....

Match of the tournament: Mark Williams v Stephen Lee

Best Player in the tournament: Judd Trump/Mark Selby

Most Disappointing player in the tournament: Ronnie O'Sullivan