Wong holds on for Championship defense
filed Sunday, September 3, 2023. 3:15pm PT/USA
The defending champion Steven Wong was taken to the final frame in his Round of 32 tie of the 2023 United States National Snooker at the Embassy Billiards Club in San Gabriel, California.
The number one seed was drawn against Jay Sha, the runner-up of Group M, and found himself 2-1 behind against the New Yorker before hitting back to win 3-2 to advance into the Round of 16.
Renat Denkha has continued his impressive form with a 3-0 success over Raymond McCarthy, who advanced in second place from Group E.
The 2019 Championship runner-up Cheang Ciing Yoo has also booked his place in the Round of 16, as the number two seed breezed past Tommy Kollins 3-0, who is the son of the late great five-time Champion Tom Kollins.
The 2006 Championship runner-up Romil Azemat, who sensationally knocked out the defending champion Ahmed Aly Elsayed out of last year's event in Seattle, secured his appearance in the round of 16 after defeating the the 2007 Champion, Jack Kung, 3-0.
Action from the Round of 32 on day three of play at the 2023 United States National Snooker Championship
Photo © SnookerUSA.com
Both Corey Sykes and Omar Balsara have come through to the Round of 16 without dropping any frames in the Championship, as they defeated Jay He and Jeffrey Phong 3-0 respectively.
Number four seed Dharma Hemnani, who advanced from Group D in second position after losing one Group tie, is all-set for the round of 16 after he scored an excellent 3-0 win over Rajneesh Bansal, who qualified for the knockout stage by winning Group O.
The twice champion Ajeya Prabhakar will not be adding to his title haul this year, as the number three seed lost on the colors in the final frame against Arizona's Daren Mark Taylor.
With the overrunning of the Round of 32 matches, the Round of 16 has commenced later than the 2pm local time which it was scheduled for.
Snooker fans in the United States and around the world will be able to keep up-to-date with all the events from the Embassy Billiards Club with live scoring and streaming, and reports will appear here on SnookerUSA.com.
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For all the group match results and knockout draw results, please visit Cloud Snooker:
» 2023 United States National Snooker Championship on Cloud Snooker
