World Grand Prix: Ben Woollaston falls just short after eleventh-hour dash to Hong Kong
World No 35 only discovers he has made tournament in city at 7.15am on Monday, and makes flight at Heathrow with five minutes to spare
Ben Woollaston did not know he would be playing at this week’s World Grand Prix in Hong Kong until 7.15am on Monday morning, he made his 11am flight with five minutes to spare and arrived in the city 24 hours later.
An eleventh-hour replacement for Stephen Maguire, the world No 35 did better than might have been expected against Shaun Murphy in the first round, and came close to pulling off a shock against an opponent who needs three good weeks to boost his chances of getting into the top 16 ahead of the World Championship at the Crucible.
A break of 90 gave Woollaston the opening frame, then Murphy took a scrappy second before making a 97 for 2-1. The next two were shared, then Murphy looked close to the winning post when he led 62-18 in frame six, only for Woollaston to double a red to a baulk corner to set up a tremendous 54 clearance for 3-3.
Early in the decider, Woollaston potted a red then went for a risky brown to centre, but missed the target and spent the rest of the match in his seat as Murphy made 110.
“The fact that Ben was a late call-up doesn’t change the fact that he’s an incredibly tough player to beat,” Murphy said. “The clearance he made in the sixth frame has to be one of the best of all time. The double he played on the first red – I was sitting there thinking ‘What’s he playing?’ The next thing I knew it was 3-3.”