Mark Selby loses in Wuhan Open qualifiers; Jimmy White wins

Mark Selby crashed out of the Wuhan Open with a 5-4 defeat to Long Zehuang in the qualifiers on Sunday in Leicester.

The four-time world champion led 4-1 after compiling a brace of centuries – two big contributions of 135 and 130.

But his Chinese opponent fought back in terrific fashion at the Mattioli Arena, winning the last four frames on the spin.

Long compiled breaks of 50, 67, 54, and 67 in successive frames to clinch a deciding-frame victory at the end.

It was a busy day as the preliminary phase for the Wuhan Open, returning as a ranking event on the calendar for a second season, got under way.

Most of the other marquee names advanced unscathed to the venue stages of the competition in October.

Last week’s Shanghai Masters finalist Shaun Murphy guaranteed his return trip to China with a comfortable 5-1 defeat of Michael Holt.

John Higgins, Barry Hawkins, Si Jiahui, Robert Milkins, and Gary Wilson each advanced as well – albeit the latter needed all nine frames to pip Alexander Ursenbacher in a tight decider.

There were a few other upsets, notably a terrific 5-4 victory for Cheung Ka Wai over Stephen Maguire.

Hong Kong’s Cheung is competing in his first season as a professional and already looks like a player who can mix it with the elite.

The 25 year-old also compiled three century breaks in his narrow defeat to Ryan Day during last week’s Xi’an Grand Prix qualifiers.

Ricky Walden suffered a surprise exit as well, losing 5-4 to Mostafa Dorgham who recorded only his third ever triumph as a pro.

Among the others to make it through the Wuhan Open qualifiers was Jimmy White.

The 10-time ranking event winner struggled badly for form during the most recent campaign, but he has already started this term in more confident fashion.

White took Si Jiahui to a deciding frame last week but managed to do even better here, eclipsing Dominic Dale with a 5-3 scoreline.

• CLICK HERE: Judd Trump safely books Xi’an Grand Prix spot

Anthony McGill, Chris Wakelin, Aaron Hill, and Sanderson Lam qualified, while Pakistan’s Haris Tahir won his first match as a professional by beating Jamie Jones.

Chinese trio Fan Zhengyi, Xu Si, and He Guoqiang all additionally won to guarantee their returns to the homeland.

On Monday, the Wuhan Open qualifiers continue with Luca Brecel, Ali Carter, and Hossein Vafaei among those scheduled to play.

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2024 Wuhan Open draw

Round of 128 (bo9)

Top Half
Judd Trump vs Antoni Kowalski (Oct 6)
He Guoqiang 5-0 Baipat Siripaporn
Anthony McGill 5-3 Simon Blackwell
Mostafa Dorgham 5-4 Ricky Walden
John Higgins 5-1 Ben Mertens
Fan Zhengyi 5-0 Mink Nutcharut
Robert Milkins 5-1 Farakh Ajaib
Zak Surety 5-1 Scott Donaldson

Haris Tahir 5-3 Jamie Jones
Chris Wakelin 5-1 Ma Hailong
David Lilley 5-1 Mohammed Shehab
Allan Taylor 5-0 Joshua Thomand
Yuan Sijun vs TBC Wildcard (Oct 6)
Xing Zihao 5-1 Stuart Bingham
Xu Si 5-1 Ian Burns
Ding Junhui vs Robbie McGuigan (Oct 6)

Ronnie O’Sullivan vs Mitchell Mann (Oct 6)
Sanderson Lam 5-3 Huang Jiahao
Hammad Miah 5-3 Joe O’Connor
Robbie Williams 5-4 Kreishh Gurbaxani
Zhang Anda vs Dean Young (Oct 6)
Graeme Dott 5-2 Julien Leclercq
Hossein Vafaei 5-0 Ahmed Aly Elsayed
Jordan Brown vs TBC Wildcard (Oct 6)

Daniel Womersley 5-4 Joe Perry
Si Jiahui 5-3 Gong Chenzhi
Martin O’Donnell vs TBC Wildcard (Oct 6)
Sunny Akani 5-2 Tom Ford
Matthew Selt 5-2 Liam Pullen
Pang Junxu 5-2 Révész Bulcsú
Ishpreet Singh Chadha 5-3 David Grace
Duane Jones 5-4 Luca Brecel

Bottom Half
Mark Allen 5-1 Bai Yulu
Jamie Clarke 5-4 Alfie Burden
Cheung Ka Wai 5-4 Stephen Maguire
Wu Yize 5-1 Rory Thor
Jak Jones 5-3 Ross Muir
Tian Pengfei 5-3 Andrew Higginson
Jack Lisowski 5-2 Liam Graham
Iulian Boiko 5-4 Manasawin Phetmalaikul

Elliot Slessor 5-3 Artemijs Zizins
David Gilbert vs TBC Wildcard (Oct 6)
Ben Woollaston 5-1 Oliver Lines
Gary Wilson 5-4 Alexander Ursenbacher
Jackson Page 5-3 Lei Peifan
Neil Robertson 5-0 Ken Doherty
Dylan Emery 5-1 Lim Kok Leong
Long Zehuang 5-4 Mark Selby

Shaun Murphy 5-1 Michael Holt
Anthony Hamilton 5-4 Reanne Evans
Noppon Saengkham 5-1 Daniel Wells
Jimmy White 5-3 Dominic Dale
Ali Carter 5-3 Wang Yuchen
Mark Davis 5-3 Chris Totten
Marco Fu 5-1 Zhou Yuelong
Louis Heathcote 5-4 Thepchaiya Un-Nooh

Stan Moody 5-2 Matthew Stevens
Ryan Day 5-3 Lui Hongyu
Jimmy Robertson 5-2 Amir Sarkhosh
Barry Hawkins 5-3 Jiang Jun
Xiao Guodong 5-1 Haydon Pinhey
Andrew Pagett 5-1 Lyu Haotian
Aaron Hill 5-2 Ashley Carty
Kyren Wilson vs Liam Davies (Oct 6)

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Featured photo credit: WST