Stuart Bingham had more than one reason to celebrate as he booked his place in the third round of the China Open with a 6-5 victory over Ricky Walden on Wednesday. The two Englishmen shared the opening six frames of their match, but 2015 world champion Bingham then produced the highlight of the contest, as he completed the fourth maximum break of his career.
It was also the second 147 in a matter of days in Beijing, following Ronnie O’Sullvan’s haul on Tuesday, while the impressive knock gave Bingham the momentum he needed to eventually prevail in what was a tight contest against Walden. However, that was not the only reason for Bingham to be celebrating after the match, as the victory also guaranteed his place at this month’s World Championship, as he is now secured of his spot in the top-16 of the world rankings.
The 41-year-old was understandably happy with his day’s work and he revealed he can now play without pressure for the rest of the tournament, as he has already achieved his main goal by securing his place at the Crucible. “It’s always special to make a 147, funnily enough my last one was also against Ricky, in the (2012) Wuxi Classic final,” Bingham was quoted as saying by the world snooker website. “I made a good clearance in the last frame and I’m just happy to be in the next round. “My goal when I came here was to make sure of my Crucible place and I have done that now so the pressure is off. I am getting stronger and stronger with each match.” Bingham’s reward for reaching the third round is a clash with Scotland’s Graeme Dott on Friday.