Mark Allen put Sunday’s disappointment of losing the UK Championship final behind him with victory in the first round of the Scottish Open on Tuesday.
There wasn’t much time for the Northern Irishman to reflect on his 10-6 defeat to Ronnie O’Sullivan in York and he was straight up to Glasgow for the start of the latest ranking event of a hectic calendar.
Allen, unlike the “Rocket” who decided to withdraw from the third Home Nations event of the series this term, opted to fulfill his commitments and see if he can prolong his recent good form.
The 32 year-old was handed one of the toughest opening round fixtures but managed to escape the challenge of former English Open champion Liang Wenbo with a 4-2 triumph.
Judd Trump enjoyed a much more comfortable time of it as he hammered Jimmy White 4-0 while Kyren Wilson, Ryan Day, and Jack Lisowski moved into the last 64 as well.
Wilson, who will face Trump in a mouthwatering first round tie in next month’s Masters, compiled a century and four additional runs above 50 but was still involved in a tight affair with Oliver Lines that ended 4-2.
It was closer still for Day and Lisowski, who evaded an early exit with a pair of 4-3 victories over Rhys Clark and Adam Stefanow respectively.
The biggest upset of the second day in Glasgow occurred late on as Stuart Bingham crashed to a 4-0 reverse against Tian Pengfei.
It was the opposite for Beglium’s Luca Brecel, who thumped Hammad Miah with a whitewash win while Joe Perry recorded a similar scoreline against veteran James Wattana.
Elsewhere, Chinese teenager Yuan Sijun thrashed countryman Xiao Guodong and was joined by compatriots Zhao Xintong, Chen Feilong, and Zhang Anda in making the next stage.
Home hopeful Alan McManus took the last two frames as he scraped past John Astley in a decider with Scott Donaldson edging Rory McLeod 4-2.
Among the others to emerge with a first round success were Mark King, Matthew Stevens, Anthony Hamilton, and Joe Swail.
But Tom Ford, who reached the semi-finals of the UK Championship last week, fell to a 4-3 loss against amateur David Lilley.
