 | |
| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | 24–25 September 2022 (2022-09-24 –2022-09-25) |
| Venue | Marshall Arena |
| City | Milton Keynes |
| Country | England |
| Organisation | World Snooker Tour |
| Format | Non-ranking team event |
| Total prize fund | £140,000 |
| Winner's share | £60,000 |
| Highest break |  Mark Selby (ENG) (134) |
| Final | |
| Champion | |
| Runner-up | |
| Score | 4–2 |
2024 → | |
The2022 World Mixed Doubles (officially the2022 BetVictor World Mixed Doubles) was a non-ranking professionalsnooker team tournament that took place from 24 to 25 September 2022 at theMarshall Arena inMilton Keynes. Organised by theWorld Snooker Tour and sponsored by bookmakerBetVictor, the event was televised byITV. It was the first staging of the tournament since 1991, whenSteve Davis andAllison Fisher defeatedStephen Hendry andStacey Hillyard 5–4 in the final inHamburg. It featured a total prize fund of £140,000, of which the winners received £60,000 (£30,000 per player).
The event featured the top four men from thesnooker world rankings and the top four women from theWorld Women's Snooker rankings. The teams were selected via a draw that took place on 6 August 2022.Ronnie O'Sullivan was paired withReanne Evans,Judd Trump withNg On-yee,Mark Selby withRebecca Kenna, andNeil Robertson withMink Nutcharut. The tournament was played as around-robin with four-frame matches, followed by a final between the top-two placed teams. The team members made alternate visits to the table rather than playing alternate shots.
Despite losing their first two round-robin matches, Robertson and Mink defeated Trump and Ng 4–0 in their last round-robin match to reach the final, where they defeated Selby and Kenna 4–2 to win the tournament. There were threecentury breaks made during the event. Selby made two of these, including the event's highest break of 134.
The 2022 World Mixed Doubles was the first edition of theWorld Mixed Doubles since 1991 as well as the first televised mixed-gendered team event since 1991.[1][2] In 1991, the event was played inHamburg, Germany, and was won bySteve Davis andAllison Fisher, who defeatedStephen Hendry andStacey Hillyard 5–4 in the final.[2] The 2022 edition was played with four teams made up of the top four ranked players from theWorld Snooker Tour and theWorld Women's Snooker Tour.[2] The event took place on 24 and 25 September 2022 at theMarshall Arena inMilton Keynes.[3] Sponsored by bookmakerBetVictor, the event was televised byITV in the UK and byEurosport andDiscovery+ in Europe.[4][5] The four teams competed in around-robin tournament with matches played as the best-of-fourframes.[6] The two teams that won the most frames over the round-robin progressed to the final, contested over the best-of-seven frames.[2][6] Instead ofscotch doubles, the event was played usingalternative visits.[5]
The teams were selected via a draw that took place on 6 August 2022. The top four players from the main tour and women's world rankings were set to compete. The2022 World Snooker Championship winnerRonnie O'Sullivan was paired with 12-timeWomen's World Snooker Championship winnerReanne Evans,2019 World Snooker Championship winnerJudd Trump withNg On-yee,2021 World Snooker Championship winnerMark Selby withRebecca Kenna, and2010 World Snooker Championship winnerNeil Robertson with reigning women's world championMink Nutcharut.[7]
A breakdown of the prize money awarded for the event is shown below:[3]
All matches in the round-robin phase were a best-of-four, with the first two matches played on 24 September.[8] Ng and Trump won their opening frame against O'Sullivan and Evans, before Trump made abreak of 75 to take a 2–0 lead. They also won the third frame, with Ng making aclearance before Evans made a break of 62 in the final frame. Speaking after the 3–1 win, Ng commented that her clearance in frame three had "huge pressure but luckily I handled it well".[8] In the opening frame of the next match, Selby made the highest break of the event, a 134 against Robertson and Mink.[8] Robertson made 64 in the next frame, but Selby made further breaks of 40 and 64 to win 3–1.[8]
O'Sullivan and Evans lost the opening frame by 11points to Mink and Robertson, but completed a 3–1 victory which included an O'Sullivan 111 break in frame 2.[9] Selby and Kenna also won 3–1 over Trump and Ng which included a 68 break from Selby.[9] Going into the last round of matches Robertson and Mink were required to win all four frames to have a chance of qualifying for the final in their match against Trump and Ng.[10] Robertson and Mink won all four frames, including a break of 74 by Mink in frame three.[10] Selby and Kenna, who had already won two matches took the opening frame of their match against O'Sullivan and Evans qualifying them for the final.[10] They also won two of the next three to win the match 3–1 with Selby making breaks of 67 and 78.[10] Selby/Kenna finished the round-robin with nine frame wins, ahead of Robertson/Mink with six, both progressing to the final. O'Sullivan/Evans finished with five frame wins and Trump/Ng four.[10]
The final was played over the best of seven frames on the evening of 25 September. Selby made a break of 108 in the opening frame, but Robertson and Mink won the next three frames to lead 3–1. Selby made breaks of 42 and 40 to take frame 5, but Robertson and Mink won frame 6 to defeat Selby and Kenna 4–2.[11][1] Despite losing, Kenna suggested that the experience of the event was beneficial, hoping it "inspired some girls to give [snooker] a go."[1] Robertson credited his playing partner with the event victory saying "It was her performance in the last match before the final and that filled me full of confidence because I knew even if I were to make a mistake, if she was given an opportunity she would do really well."[1][12]
The results from the round-robin are shown below. Teams in bold denote match winners.[13][14]
|
|
| Final: Best of 7 frames. Referee:Desislava Bozhilova Marshall Arena,Milton Keynes, England, 25 September 2022. | ||
| Mark Selby (ENG) Rebecca Kenna (ENG) | 2–4 |  Neil Robertson (AUS) Mink Nutcharut (THA) |
| 108–8 (107), 0–78 (69), 23–61, 25–75 (67),82–0, 6–105 | ||
| 107 | Highest break | 69 |
| 1 | Century breaks | 0 |
| 1 | 50+ breaks | 2 |
There were threecentury breaks made during the event. The highest was a 134 made by Selby in the first frame of their group stage match against Robertson and Mink.[15]
