The 2023 Scottish Open (officially the 2023 BetVictor Scottish Open) was a professional snooker tournament that took place from 11 to 17 December 2023 at the Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland.[1][2] It was the tenth ranking event of the 2023–24 season (following the Snooker Shoot Out and preceding the World Grand Prix), the third tournament in the Home Nations Series (following the English Open and Northern Ireland Open and preceding the Welsh Open), and the sixth of eight tournaments in the season's European Series. Sponsored by BetVictor, the tournament was broadcast by Eurosport, Discovery+ and free to air on DMAX in the UK and Europe, and by other broadcasters worldwide. The winner received the Stephen Hendry trophy and £80,000 from a total prize fund of £427,000.
Qualification for the tournament took place from 30 October to 2 November at the Morningside Arena in Leicester. Qualifying matches involving the top 16 players in the world rankings and two Scottish wildcards were held over to be played at the main venue in Edinburgh.[3] World number one Ronnie O'Sullivan withdrew from the tournament before his held-over qualifying match against Liam Graham.[4]
Gary Wilson was the defending champion, having defeated Joe O'Connor 9–2 in the final of the 2022 tournament. Wilson successfully retained the title, defeating first-time ranking finalist Noppon Saengkham 9–5 in the final to win the second ranking title of his career.[5] The main stage of the tournament produced 59 century breaks, in addition to the 19 centuries made in the qualifying rounds. Stuart Bingham made the tournament's highest break, a 145 in his last-64 match against Manasawin Phetmalaikul.
The event took place from 11 to 17 December 2023 at the Meadowbank Sports Centre in Edinburgh, Scotland.[1] All matches were played as the best of seven frames until the quarter-finals, which were best of nine. The semi-finals were best of 11, and the final was a best of 17 frames match played over two sessions.[2]
The qualifying matches were broadcast by Discovery+ in Europe (including the UK); Migu, Youku, and Huya in China; and Matchroom.live in all other territories.[6]
The main stage of the event was broadcast by Eurosport, Discovery+, and DMAX in Europe (including the UK and Ireland); Liaoning TV, Migu, and Huya in Mainland China; Now TV in Hong Kong; Astro SuperSport in Malaysia and Brunei; TrueVisions in Thailand; Sportcast in Taiwan; Premier Sports Network in the Philippines; Fastsports in Pakistan; and Matchroom.live in all other territories.[7]
The tournament winner received the Stephen Hendry trophy. The breakdown of prize money for the event is shown below:[8]
Qualifying for the event took place from 30 October to 2 November 2023 at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, England. All qualifying matches were the best of seven frames.[3] The match between Chris Wakelin and Mark Joyce, due to be played on 30 October, was rescheduled to 31 October due to Wakelin's participation in the Northern Ireland Open final on 29 October. Wakelin defeated Joyce 4–2. Jimmy White recorded his first win of the season with a 4–3 defeat of Duane Jones, who replaced Marco Fu in the draw after Fu withdrew from the event.[3][9] Scott Donaldson came from 1–3 down to beat Ashley Hugill 4–3.[10] James Cahill defeated Stan Moody 4–3.[11]
The held-over qualifying matches were played on 11 December. That morning, the World Snooker Tour announced that world number one Ronnie O'Sullivan had withdrawn from the event and would not play that afternoon as scheduled.[4] His opponent, Liam Graham, received a walkover, but criticised O'Sullivan for his late withdrawal, calling it "disrespectful."[12] O'Sullivan responded that he had withdrawn the previous evening and said he "did not leave it to the last minute."[13]
Ding Junhui whitewashed David Grace 4–0. Elliot Slessor made a century break of 104 to tie the scores at 3–3 against defending champion Gary Wilson, but Wilson won the deciding frame with a 90 break. Sam Craigie trailed ninth seed Mark Williams 0–3, but won four frames in a row to clinch a 4–3 victory, making a century break of 126 in the deciding frame. Reigning World Champion Luca Brecel whitewashed Iulian Boiko 4–0 despite arriving at the venue just before the match, due to a delayed flight. Seventh seed Shaun Murphy lost 1–4 to Liu Hongyu, and 16th seed Hossein Vafaei was defeated 3–4 by Daniel Wells. The 14th seed Barry Hawkins made century breaks of 127 and 100, but lost 3–4 to Pang Junxu.[14]
In the evening session, 12th seed Robert Milkins was whitewashed 0–4 by Mark Davis. Judd Trump, Jack Lisowski, and John Higgins also whitewashed their respective opponents Sydney Wilson, Mohamed Ibrahim, and Oliver Brown. World number two Trump revealed afterward that being scheduled to play on tables two and three earlier in the season had given him "extra incentive" to return to the main table.[15]Jamie Jones defeated fifth seed Mark Allen 4–2 with century breaks of 141 and 103.[14]
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The last-64 matches were played from 11 to 13 December. Martin Gould withdrew from the tournament, and his opponent Zhou Yuelong received a walkover.[1] Zhang Anda defeated fourth seed Trump 4–2.[16][17] Brecel beat Cahill 4–3,[18] and Aaron Hill defeated 13th seed Lisowski 4–1. Liu Hongyu and Lyu Haotian whitewashed their respective opponents Zak Surety and Jackson Page 4–0. He Guoqiang won the first frame against Higgins after needing two snookers, but Higgins took the next four frames to win 4–1. Higgins attempted a maximum break in frame three, but missed the ninth black to end the break at 65. Higgins described some of his shots "amateurish" and "pathetic", commenting: "[I was] poor, really poor. I'm just lucky he didn't put me under any pressure really because I was all over the place."[19]
Mark Selby made a century break of 115 in the second frame and led Matthew Stevens 3–2. Stevens won the sixth frame to take the match to a decider, which Selby won with a 64 break to secure a 4–3 victory. The match between Jimmy Robertson and Jimmy White went to a deciding frame after midnight; White won on the last black for a 4–3 victory.[16] Thepchaiya Un-Nooh made two century breaks of 105 and 115 to lead Wakelin 2–0, but Wakelin replied with a century of 110, and went on to win the match 4–2. Defending champion Gary Wilson trailed Xing Zihao 1–3, but won three frames in a row for a 4–3 victory, making century breaks of 130 and 125 in frames five and six. The previous year's runner-up Joe O'Connor defeated Donaldson 4–1. The 17th seed Ryan Day lost 3–4 to Ashley Carty. The 20th seed Stuart Bingham whitewashed Manasawin Phetmalaikul 4–0, making breaks of 135 and 145 in the first two frames. Kyren Wilson made breaks of 126, 74, 129, and 106 to whitewash Jordan Brown 4–0, with Brown scoring just 13 points in the match.[20]
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The last-32 matches were played from 13 to 14 December.[1] Noppon Saengkham defeated 11th seed Ali Carter 4–2, and Brecel was beaten 2–4 by Martin O'Donnell. Matthew Selt trailed Selby 1–3, but won three consecutive frames to clinch a 4–3 victory. Anthony McGill made a century break of 100 to level the scores at 2–2 against Pang, and also took the next two frames for a 4–2 win. The match between Tom Ford and Ding was level at 1–1 after century breaks of 105 from Ford, and 118 from Ding in the first two frames. They were level twice more at 2–2 and 3–3 to enter a deciding frame, which Ford won with a 81 break for a 4–3 victory. Higgins also defeated Ricky Walden 4–3 in a deciding frame. From 0–3 behind, Kyren Wilson won four consecutive frames to defeat David Gilbert 4–3, narrowly winning the sixth frame on the last black. Dominic Dale beat Jimmy White 4–1. Zhang defeated Si Jiahui 4–2. Wakelin whitewashed Craigie 4–0. O'Connor came from 1–3 behind against Gary Wilson to level at 3–3 and force a decider, which Wilson won for a 4–3 victory. Rory Thor beat Carty 4–3 to reach his first last-16 match.
The last-16 matches were played on 14 December.[1] Sanderson Lam defeated McGill 4–1 to reach his first ranking quarter-final. Higgins was tied at 2–2 with Lyu, but won the match 4–2. Ford trailed O'Donnell 1–2, but won three frames in a row for a 4–2 victory. Selt made breaks of 91 and 99 to lead Saengkham 2–1, but Saengkham won the next two frames with breaks of 113 and 79 to lead 3–2. Selt forced a decider but Saengkham made a 93 break to secure a 4–3 victory.[21] Bingham made breaks of 119, 68, 65, and 89 to whitewash Zhang 4–0. Gary Wilson defeated Thor 4–1. He twice attempted maximum breaks in the match, but ran out of position after the 11th red in frame three and had to play for the pink, and missed the 12th black in frame five. Zhou whitewashed Dale 4–0, making breaks of 138 and 88 in frames two and three. Kyren Wilson led Wakelin 2–0, but Wakelin won four frames in a row, making breaks of 64, 79, and 75, to win 4–2.[21]
The quarter-finals were played on 15 December as the best of nine frames.[1] In the afternoon session, Zhou made a century break of 100 in the first frame and went on to lead Bingham 4–1. Bingham won three frames in a row, including a century break of 142 in the sixth frame, to level at 4–4, but Zhou won the deciding frame with a 70 break for a 5–4 victory. Gary Wilson made breaks of 68, 96, 118, 68, and 82 to whitewash Wakelin 5–0. After the match Wilson said: "It was nice to play pretty good for a change. It was a long time coming. I had a bad start to the season and it was just nice to find something and play how I know I can."[22][23]
Saengkham was level at 2–2 with Lam at the mid-session interval, but won three of the next four frames to win the match 5–3. Higgins made a century break of 132 in the first frame against Ford, and went on to lead 3–0. Ford made breaks of 58, 56, and 99 to level at 3–3, but Higgins won the next two frames for a 5–3 win. After the match Higgins said: "It was a big win for me. I've lost a few times to Tom [Ford] and he is such an improved player. His head doesn't really go the way it used to in previous years. He is a top player. I know I'm going to have to play well tomorrow night now."[22][23]
The semi-finals were played on 16 December as the best of eleven frames.[1] In the first semi-final, Zhou took a 5–3 lead, but Wilson made breaks of 122 and 54 to tie the scores at 5–5. Zhou made a break of 69 in the deciding frame and celebrated after potting the green ball to lead by 31 points with just 22 remaining. However, Wilson obtained foul points from three snookers, and then won the frame on a re-spotted black for a 6–5 victory. Afterwards, Wilson said: "I'm shocked. Absolutely shocked. I'm shaking like a leaf here. It was just one of those crazy games. It wasn't a great game. I was really struggling technically. I just fought and fought."[24][25]
In the second semi-final, Higgins made breaks of 130 and 90 to lead Saengkham 3–1, but Saengkham took five frames in a row with breaks of 133, 120, and 83 to win 6–3 and reach his first ranking final. Saengkham said: "When I was 3–1 down I just had a 15-minute break. I felt nervous and went back to talk with my wife and [daughter] little Believe. I knew it could either happen again and I could lose in another semi-final or I could win today. I just tried to stay in the game and control something. I did it today."[26][27]
The best-of-17-frame final was played over two sessions on 17 December between defending champion Gary Wilson and first-time ranking finalist Saengkham.[1] Wilson made breaks of 90, 62, and 66 for a 3–1 lead, which he extended to 7–2 with breaks of 79, 105, 78, and 81. Saengkham won the next two frames with breaks of 132 and 97, narrowing Wilson's lead to 7–4. Wilson took frame 12 to move within one frame of victory. Saengkham won the 13th frame, but Wilson won the 14th with a 53 break to win the match 9–5, successfully defending the title and claiming his second ranking event victory. After the match, Wilson said: "This game is crazy. I was absolutely nowhere for quite a while and didn't expect anything this week. Slowly but surely I found a little bit and a little bit more, to the point where I am actually quite proud of myself for the final. I've wanted to play in a final again and play in a solid way like I used to play when I was younger. I felt like I played that way." Saengkham said: "I have to give all of the credit to Gary. In the first session he was very strong. He scored very heavily and he controlled everything with the safety game. I had so much pressure because he didn’t miss and was very good."[5][28]
The draw for the tournament is shown below. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the top 32 seeded players, and players in bold denote match winners.[29] All matches were played as the best of seven frames until the quarter-finals, which were best of nine. The semi-finals were best of 11, and the final was a best of 17 frames match played over two sessions.
Qualification for the tournament took place from 30 October to 2 November at the Morningside Arena in Leicester, although matches involving the top 16 players in the world rankings and two Scottish wildcards (Jack Borwick and Amaan Iqbal) were held over to be played at the final venue. Numbers in parentheses after the players' names denote the top 32 seeded players, and players in bold denote match winners.[3]
The results of the held-over matches played in Edinburgh on 11 December were as follows:[1]
Gary Wilson (ENG) (1) 4–3 Elliot Slessor (ENG) Jimmy Robertson (ENG) (28) 4–2 
Amaan Iqbal (SCO) Mark Selby (ENG) (6) 4–2 Sean O'Sullivan (ENG)
Ding Junhui (CHN) (15) 4–0 David Grace (ENG) Ronnie O'Sullivan (ENG) (3) w/d–w/o Liam Graham (SCO)[4]
Mark Williams (WAL) (9) 3–4 Sam Craigie (ENG) Barry Hawkins (ENG) (14) 3–4 Pang Junxu (CHN) Ali Carter (ENG) (11) 4–3 Long Zehuang (CHN)
Hossein Vafaei (IRN) (16) 3–4 Daniel Wells (WAL) Jack Borwick (SCO) 1–4 
Ishpreet Singh Chadha (IND) Shaun Murphy (ENG) (7) 1–4 Liu Hongyu (CHN).svg/1280px-Flag_of_Belgium_(civil).svg.png){kind=small}
Luca Brecel (BEL) (2) 4–0 
Iulian Boiko (UKR) Kyren Wilson (ENG) (8) 4–2 
Mostafa Dorgham (EGY) Robert Milkins (ENG) (12) 0–4 Mark Davis (ENG) Judd Trump (ENG) (4) 4–0 Sydney Wilson (ENG).svg/1280px-Flag_of_Northern_Ireland_(1953%E2%80%931972).svg.png){kind=small}
Mark Allen (NIR) (5) 2–4 Jamie Jones (WAL) Jack Lisowski (ENG) (13) 4–0 Mohamed Ibrahim (EGY) John Higgins (SCO) (10) 4–0 Oliver Brown (ENG)The results of the qualifying matches played in Leicester were as follows:[3]
Fan Zhengyi (CHN) (30) 3–4 Sanderson Lam (ENG) Cao Yupeng (CHN) 4–2 David Lilley (ENG) Xiao Guodong (CHN) (31) 2–4 Jamie Clarke (WAL) Zhou Yuelong (CHN) (21) 4–0 Anthony Hamilton (ENG) Si Jiahui (CHN) (29) 4–3 Tian Pengfei (CHN)
Noppon Saengkham (THA) (22) 4–0 Rebecca Kenna (ENG) Oliver Lines (ENG) 4–0 John Astley (ENG) Ian Burns (ENG) 1–4 Alfie Burden (ENG) Ashley Carty (ENG) 4–2 
Andres Petrov (EST) Anthony McGill (SCO) (19) 4–0 .svg/1280px-Flag_of_Australia_(converted).svg.png){kind=small}
Ryan Thomerson (AUS) Matthew Selt (ENG) (27) 4–1 Dylan Emery (WAL) Ma Hailong (CHN) 2–4 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh (THA) Ben Woollaston (ENG) 2–4 M. Phetmalaikul (THA) Mink Nutcharut (THA) 0–4 Xu Si (CHN) David Gilbert (ENG) (25) 4–3 Jak Jones (WAL) Jimmy White (ENG) 4–3 Duane Jones (WAL)[a] Liam Pullen (ENG) 1–4 Zak Surety (ENG) Chris Wakelin (ENG) (24) 4–2 Mark Joyce (ENG)
Ken Doherty (IRL) 1–4 Aaron Hill (IRL) Jackson Page (WAL) 4–1 Himanshu Jain (IND) Martin O'Donnell (ENG) 4–2 Andrew Pagett (WAL) Jordan Brown (NIR) 4–2 Adam Duffy (ENG) Stuart Bingham (ENG) (20) 4–0 Michael White (WAL) Stuart Carrington (ENG) 1–4 
Lukas Kleckers (GER) Ryan Day (WAL) (17) 4–2 Jiang Jun (CHN) Andy Hicks (ENG) 2–4 Zhang Anda (CHN) Joe Perry (ENG) (26) 2–4 Lyu Haotian (CHN) Scott Donaldson (SCO) 4–3 Ashley Hugill (ENG)
Ahmed Aly Elsayed (USA) 0–4 Ben Mertens (BEL) Ricky Walden (ENG) (23) 4–3 Hammad Miah (ENG) Rod Lawler (ENG) 1–4 Robbie Williams (ENG) Ross Muir (SCO) 1–4 Dominic Dale (WAL) Matthew Stevens (WAL) 4–0 
Victor Sarkis (BRA) Joe O'Connor (ENG) (32) 4–0 
Andy Lee (HKG) Tom Ford (ENG) (18) 4–1 Louis Heathcote (ENG) Anton Kazakov (UKR) 2–4 Jenson Kendrick (ENG) Yuan Sijun (CHN) 4–0 
Muhammad Asif (PAK) Peng Yisong (CHN) 0–4 He Guoqiang (CHN) Wu Yize (CHN) 0–4 .svg/1280px-Flag_of_Switzerland_(Pantone).svg.png){kind=small}
Alexander Ursenbacher (SUI)
Rory Thor (MAS) 4–1 Graeme Dott (SCO) Baipat Siripaporn (THA) 0–4 Julien Leclercq (BEL) James Cahill (ENG) 4–3 Stan Moody (ENG) Andrew Higginson (ENG) 4–3 Allan Taylor (ENG) Liam Highfield (ENG) 4–0 Dean Young (SCO) Fergal O'Brien (IRL) 3–4 Xing Zihao (CHN) Reanne Evans (ENG) 2–4 Martin Gould (ENG)A total of 59 century breaks were made during the main stage of the tournament in Edinburgh.[30]
A total of 19 century breaks were made during the qualifying stage of the tournament in Leicester.[30]