The 2023 World Grand Prix (officially the 2023 Duelbits World Grand Prix) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 16 to 22 January 2023 at The Centaur in Cheltenham, England.[1] The eighth ranking event of the 2022–23 snooker season, it preceded the 2023 Players Championship and the 2023 Tour Championship as the first of three events in the Players Series. Sponsored for the first time by cryptocurrency casino Duelbits,[2] the tournament was broadcast by ITV domestically, by Eurosport in Europe, and by Matchroom Sport and other broadcasters internationally.[3] The winner received £100,000 from a total prize fund of £380,000.

2023 Duelbits World Grand Prix
Tournament information
Dates16–22 January 2023 (2023-01-16 – 2023-01-22)
VenueThe Centaur
CityCheltenham
CountryEngland
OrganisationWorld Snooker Tour
FormatRanking event
Total prize fund£380,000
Winner's share£100,000
Highest break Mark Allen (NIR) (141)
Final
Champion Mark Allen (NIR)
Runner-up Judd Trump (ENG)
Score10–9
2021
2024

The participants were the top 32 players on the one-year ranking list as it stood after the 2022 English Open.[4] Lu Ning was ineligible to compete after the sport's governing body suspended him amid a match-fixing investigation; his place went to David Gilbert.[5] Four-time world champion John Higgins failed to qualify after finishing at 54th place on the one-year list following the English Open.[6][7]

The defending champion was Ronnie O'Sullivan, who defeated Neil Robertson 10–8 in the previous season's final.[8] However, O'Sullivan lost 2–4 to Noppon Saengkham in the last 16.[9] Facing Judd Trump in the final, Mark Allen won five consecutive frames to lead 7–2, but Trump won six of the next seven to tie the scores at 8–8.[10][11] The match went to a deciding frame, where Allen clinched a 10–9 victory to win his ninth ranking title.[12] It was Allen's third ranking tournament win of the season, following the 2022 Northern Ireland Open and 2022 UK Championship, and took him to a career-high of number three in the world rankings.[13] Allen made the tournament's highest break of 141 in the 12th frame of the final.[14]

Prize fund

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The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below:[15][1]

  • Winner: £100,000
  • Runner-up: £40,000
  • Semi-final: £20,000
  • Quarter-final: £12,500
  • Last 16: £7,500
  • Last 32: £5,000
  • Highest break: £10,000
  • Total: £380,000

Seeding list

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The top 32 players on the one-year ranking list, up to and including the 2022 English Open, qualified for the tournament. Seedings were based on the order of the players in that list.[16]

The rankings are given below.[17]

Seed Player Total points
1   Mark Allen (NIR) 402,000
2   Ryan Day (WAL) 136,500
3   Kyren Wilson (ENG) 120,000
4   Ding Junhui (CHN) 117,000
5   Mark Selby (ENG) 116,000
6   Gary Wilson (ENG) 98,500
7   Luca Brecel (BEL) 93,500
8   Jack Lisowski (ENG) 75,500
9   Zhou Yuelong (CHN) 70,000
10   Judd Trump (ENG) 61,000
11   Tom Ford (ENG) 59,500
12   Barry Hawkins (ENG) 58,500
13   Mark Williams (WAL) 55,000
14   Shaun Murphy (ENG) 53,500
15   Neil Robertson (AUS) 52,500
16   Joe O'Connor (ENG) 49,000
17   Lyu Haotian (CHN) 47,000
18   Xiao Guodong (CHN) 45,500
19   Ali Carter (ENG) 44,500
20   Jamie Jones (WAL) 44,000
21   Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) 42,000
22   Sam Craigie (ENG) 39,500
23   Hossein Vafaei (IRN) 39,000
24   Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (THA) 38,000
25   Robert Milkins (ENG) 36,500
26   Joe Perry (ENG) 36,500
27   Anthony McGill (SCO) 35,500
28   Noppon Saengkham (THA) 35,500
29   Stuart Bingham (ENG) 34,500
30   Robbie Williams (ENG) 32,500
31   Ricky Walden (ENG) 31,000
32   David Gilbert (ENG) 31,000

Tournament draw

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Last 32
Best of 7 frames
Last 16
Best of 7 frames
Quarter-finals
Best of 9 frames
Semi-finals
Best of 11 frames
Final
Best of 19 frames
               
1   Mark Allen 4
32   David Gilbert 2
1   Mark Allen 4
16   Joe O'Connor 3
16   Joe O'Connor 4
17   Lyu Haotian 2
1   Mark Allen 5
8   Jack Lisowski 4
9   Zhou Yuelong 4
24   Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 3
9   Zhou Yuelong 2
8   Jack Lisowski 4
8   Jack Lisowski 4
25   Robert Milkins 3
1   Mark Allen 6
28   Noppon Saengkham 1
5   Mark Selby 1
28   Noppon Saengkham 4
28   Noppon Saengkham 4
21   Ronnie O'Sullivan 2
12   Barry Hawkins 0
21   Ronnie O'Sullivan 4
28   Noppon Saengkham 5
13   Mark Williams 3
13   Mark Williams 4
20   Jamie Jones 1
13   Mark Williams 4
4   Ding Junhui 0
4   Ding Junhui 4
29   Stuart Bingham 0
1   Mark Allen 10
10   Judd Trump 9
3   Kyren Wilson 4
30   Robbie Williams 2
3   Kyren Wilson 2
14   Shaun Murphy 4
14   Shaun Murphy 4
19   Ali Carter 0
14   Shaun Murphy 5
27   Anthony McGill 4
11   Tom Ford 2
22   Sam Craigie 4
22   Sam Craigie 0
27   Anthony McGill 4
6   Gary Wilson 1
27   Anthony McGill 4
14   Shaun Murphy 2
10   Judd Trump 6
7   Luca Brecel 4
26   Joe Perry 1
7   Luca Brecel 0
10   Judd Trump 4
10   Judd Trump 4
23   Hossein Vafaei 2
10   Judd Trump 5
18   Xiao Guodong 3
15   Neil Robertson 1
18   Xiao Guodong 4
18   Xiao Guodong 4
2   Ryan Day 1
2   Ryan Day 4
31   Ricky Walden 1

Final

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Final: Best of 19 frames. Referee: Brendan Moore
The Centaur, Cheltenham, England, 22 January 2023
Mark Allen (1)
  Northern Ireland
10–9 Judd Trump (10)
  England
Afternoon: 58–22, 33–68, 0–74, 71–31, 89–25, 63–28, 83–9, 123–0
Evening: 88–0, 0–140 (140), 30–108 (108), 141–0 (141), 0–91,
41–87, 11–79, 1–93, 65–27, 0–76, 60–19
141 Highest break 140
1 Century breaks 2

Century breaks

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A total of 30 century breaks were made during the tournament.[18]

References

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  1. ^ a b "World Grand Prix". wst.tv. Archived from the original on 11 May 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  2. ^ "Duelbits Joins Forces With WST". World Snooker. 16 January 2023. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  3. ^ Ivan (15 January 2023). "How To Watch The World Grand Prix". World Snooker. Archived from the original on 14 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  4. ^ Huart, Matt (17 December 2022). "Race to the World Grand Prix 2023: English Open Updates". WPBSA. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  5. ^ Caulfield, David (17 December 2022). "World Grand Prix snooker lineup confirmed". SnookerHQ. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Higgins Steps Up World Grand Prix Bid". World Snooker. 13 December 2022. Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  7. ^ "1 Year List after 2022 BetVictor English Open". livescores.worldsnookerdata.com. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  8. ^ "O'Sullivan Ends Title Drought". wst.tv. 19 December 2021. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Superb Saengkham Downs Rocket". World Snooker. 18 January 2023. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  10. ^ "Allen holds off Trump in dramatic Grand Prix final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  11. ^ "Mark Allen survives stunning Judd Trump comeback to win World Grand Prix". Eurosport. 22 January 2023. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  12. ^ "Allen Edges Trump In Epic". World Snooker. 22 January 2023. Archived from the original on 23 January 2023. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  13. ^ "Mark Allen turns the air blue after winning UK Grand Prix in dramatic final frame decider". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  14. ^ "Snooker scores: Mark Allen beats Judd Trump 10-9 in World Grand Prix final". www.sportinglife.com. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  15. ^ "Prize Money World Ranking Schedule 2022/2023 Season" (PDF). wst.tv. 2 October 2022. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 October 2022.
  16. ^ "Calendar 2022/2023 v20" (PDF). wst.tv. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 June 2022. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  17. ^ "BetVictor English Open 2022 | 1 year list 2022/2023". World Snooker Tour. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  18. ^ "Duelbits World Grand Prix 2023 | Centuries". World Snooker Tour. Archived from the original on 16 January 2023. Retrieved 16 January 2023.