Snooker World Championship qualifiers: 20-year old sends World Open champion packing

Englishman Liam Pullen is only a win away of his career's crowning achievement following his 10-7 victory over World Open champion Thepchaiya Un-Nooh at the Snooker World Championship 2026 qualifiers in Sheffield.

The 20-year old will now get to experience "Judgement Day" - a pet name for the final round of the qualifiers with tickets to the Crucible up for grabs. His "terminator" to be slayed will be Thai player Noppon Saengkham, who defeated Ricky Walden 10-6 on Sunday to earn his spot in the final round.

Pullen's week has already filled to the brim with excitement. Just in the first round he already probably had his heart in his mouth, as his preliminary match with Alfie Burden went the distance to a decider at 9-9. Pullen emerged victorious, while in the second round Amir Sarkhosh fell following a 10-7 scoreline.

The match with Un-Nooh also had plenty of drama for the viewer's to enjoy. Pullen had an easy chance to convert a victory at 9-6, but a guilt-edged slipup lead to his opponent staying in the game for a bit longer. The youngster finally stepped over the line for Judgement Day with a break of 105 to take one step closer to the Crucible.

- I missed an easy red and was forced to lift myself back up again. Finally I managed a good long red and converted a proper break. I'm starting to get used to the pressure, even enjoying it a bit. It isn't easy, but I can manage it. I'm going to give it my all on Judgement Day, Pullen told WST following his bout.

Pullen has made a name for himself this season, as he reached a career-first quarterfinal at the Xi'an Grand Prix. During that tournament's journey he made headlines by defeating four-time World Champion John Higgins.

Another youngster in the form of Stan Moody also locked his name into the fourth round of qualifiers. The 19-year old took a 10-5 victory over Robbie Williams. The fourth round will see Moody hash it out against Jiang Jun for a place in the Crucible. You can find all of the scores and matches of the third round at the end of this newspiece.

The third round of the Snooker World Championship qualifiers concludes on Monday, with the crucial Judgement Day matchups going ahead on Tuesday and Wednesday. You can enjoy a Snooker World Championship qualifier live stream for free across the globe courtesy of WST.

Read more: Great news for snooker fans worldwide! Watch the final round of the Snooker World Championship qualifiers with a free live stream.





Source: WST