Ding
Snooker News

Ding Junhui Downs Local Favourite Lisowski

Ding Junhui produced a strong display to beat local favourite Jack Lisowski 4-1 in the first round of the World Grand Prix in Cheltenham on Tuesday.

The Chinese number one, runner-up twelve months ago when the event was staged at the Guild Hall in Preston, responded with breaks of 126, 88, and 52 after losing the opening frame.

Cheltenham cueist Lisowski had high hopes of performing in front of his home crowd but was unable to score a single point in the final three frames.

In fact, such was Ding’s dominance that he managed to score an impressive 349 unanswered points in the contest.

While Ding eased into the last 16, it was a much more difficult task for Masters champion Judd Trump.

The Englishman allowed old junior rival Stuart Carrington to retrieve a 3-0 deficit and force a decider, but Trump eventually scrambled through following a tense final frame.

There was to be no late survival for Mark Williams and Neil Robertson, though.

Reigning world champion Williams scored a superb 138 century break but a brace of tons from opponent Yuan Sijun helped the teenager into the second round.

Robertson, meanwhile, fell courtesy of a similar 4-3 scoreline after losing a high-quality affair against Xiao Guodong.

The pair traded seven breaks above 50 but it was Xiao who finished stronger with runs of 65, 106, and 58 allowing him to fight back from 3-1 behind with a late rally.

Elsewhere, English trio Ali Carter, Tom Ford, and Mark Davis all progressed beyond the opening hurdle after also lasting the distance.

Indeed, other than Ding, only Stephen Maguire failed to require all seven frames at Cheltenham Racecourse.

The Scot beat Mark King 4-1 to set up a tie with Yuan, when a quarter-final berth will be at stake.

Carter and Davis both won the final two frames to edge Martin O’Donnell and Jimmy Robertson 4-3 respectively.

Ford was the last player of the second day to book his spot in the second round after a last gasp triumph against Joe Perry.

On Wednesday, the remaining first round encounters take place before the second round gets under way in the evening session.

The World Grand Prix features the top 32 players on the one-year rankings list and is the first of three tournaments that makes up the inaugural Coral Cup series.

Live coverage continues on ITV 4.

Click here to view the draw (Times: CET)

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