WAYS UK Seniors Championship 2022 | Day Two Report
The quarter-final line-up for the 2022 WAYS UK Seniors Snooker Championship is now complete following the second day of action at the Bonus Arena in Hull.
Joe Johnson caused something of an upset as he ousted Rod Lawler 3-2 in the first match of the day.
Lawler looked good as he took the opening frame with the help of a 71 break but the 1986 world champion potted several pressure balls as he claimed the second on the colours to level.
Back in front went Lawler, although 69-year-old Johnson – winner of the Seniors Masters in 2019 at the Crucible Theatre – remained resilient as he shaded the fourth on the pink before completing an impressive victory with the fifth.
In the second match of the afternoon, 1980 world champion Cliff Thorburn brought down the curtain on his illustrious competitive career when he bowed out to qualifier Kuldesh Johal.
Former professional Johal registered runs of 47 and 32 during the 3-0 win to set up a last eight tie with good friend Peter Lines on Thursday.
Revered Canadian Thorburn – who famously made the Crucible’s first maximum 147 break in 1983 and won the Masters on three occasions – announced that this would be his last competitive match earlier this week.
The former world number one has been an integral part in the creation and development of the World Seniors Snooker Tour and tasted glory on it in 2018 when he lifted the Seniors Masters trophy at the home of snooker.
No player has held both the world and UK seniors titles at the same time, but David Lilley kept on course to create history when he defeated in-form Philip Williams in the evening session.
Lilley won the world crown in Sheffield last spring and the 46-year-old made a statement here with a classy 3-0 victory over the qualifier that featured breaks of 66, 55 and 89, and a pot success rate of over 98%.
The final player to book a spot in the quarter-finals was seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry who ousted Barry Pinches in a deciding frame.
Hendry – looking to secure a maiden title at seniors level – began well with a 76 break to take the opening frame, although he was restricted to just six points in the following two, as Pinches moved one away from victory with the aid of a 70 break in frame three.
However, Hendry turned the tables, crafting a 50 to square the match up before a few fruitful scoring visits in the fifth helped him set up a tasty clash with Ken Doherty.
Matches in the quarter-finals will be the best of seven frames.
