Here after are the reports by WST on day 1 in Xi’an

Morning sessions

XI’AN GRAND PRIX DAY ONE

On the first day of the new Xi’an Grand Prix, Ronnie O’Sullivan thrilled local fans with a 5-0 whitewash of Wang Yuchen to reach the last 64.

This is the first tournament staged in the historic city of Xi’an in China’s Shaanxi Province and seven-time World Champion O’Sullivan is clearly a fan of the location. He said: “I have spent a couple of days here in Xi’an before. It has a beautiful atmosphere, you feel as if you are on a film set. It’s definitely one of my favourite cities. I come to China for the food, the culture and the people, if I do well at snooker that’s a bonus. It was a brilliant crowd and atmosphere today, this is probably one of the best tournaments of the season now.“

O’Sullivan, age 48, was well short of his best today, but breaks of 72 and 52 helped him to a comfortable victory as he set up a second round meeting with Bulcsu Revesz on Tuesday. Asked about his performance, he said: “My game has been terrible for two years. I am looking for a longer term plan to play the way I want to, I just have to keep showing up and trying my best.”

World Champion Kyren Wilson scored his first win in a knockout match this season as he beat Haris Tahir 5-2. Wilson suffered a 6-0 reverse against Zhou Yuelong in the Shanghai Masters last month but got back on track today and will now meet He Guoqiang in the last 64. Mark Selby fired breaks of 136 and 11 as he beat Wang Xinbo 5-3. 

World number one Mark Allen opened with a 5-2 victory over Liu Hongyu, firing breaks of 66, 58, 111 and 70. “I was fortunate to be 2-0 up, Liu struggled early in the match,” admitted Northern Ireland’s Allen. “Then he showed what he can do when he came from 4-0 to 4-2 and I had to make a good break in the end to win 5-2. 

“This is a good time for me because I like a run of tournaments without gaps in between. We have this one, then Saudi Arabia, then a few in the UK and then another one in China so it’s a busy spell and a chance to gain momentum and hopefully pick up a few titles.

“I want to stay as world number one as long as possible. I know Judd Trump is not far behind me and if he wins titles then there won’t be much I can do. But I’m here to win the tournament too. I know I have a lot of points to defend from two years ago so I need to keep winning. Saudi will be huge in terms of the number one ranking, because the money there is so big. But it’s nice to be the one they are all chasing.”

Gong Chenzhi, a 17-year-old tour rookie from China, sprung an upset win as he beat world number 13 Tom Ford 5-1.

Evening session

X’IAN GRAND PRIX DAY ONE – EVENING SESSION

World number 78 Alfie Burden scored a stunning 5-4 win over Chinese legend Ding Junhui to progress on day one of the inaugural Xi’an Grand Prix. 

Former World Seniors finalist Burden is seeking a strong campaign to put himself in contention for a top 64 place. With this being the second season of his current spell as a professional, his tour survival is on the line.

Burden was leading 4-3, when a superb break of 110 helped Ding to force a decider. However, it was the Englishman who took the last on the colours to secure a momentous win. He now faces Ding’s Chinese compatriot Xu Si. 

“It is a massive honour to play and beat Ding in China. The crowd were amazing and very fair to me, despite the fact they obviously wanted Ding to win. This is the best venue I’ve ever played at in China. I feel great about my game and ready to compete with anyone.”

Alfie Burden

World number 78

Recently crowned Shanghai Masters champion Judd Trump continued his red hot start to the season with a 5-0 whitewash win against Ma Hailong.

The Ace in the Pack sensationally ended Ronnie O’Sullivan’s eight year undefeated streak in Shanghai last month in the semi-finals, before securing an 11-5 defeat of Shaun Murphy in the title match. He needed just one hour and 19 minutes to wrap up this evening’s win.

The 2019 World Champion is determined to cash in on his strong form and is aiming for a return to the summit of the sport. His next opponent this week is Lyu Haotian.

Trump said: “I think my aim this year is to win as much as possible and get back to number one in the world. When I was really dominating, being world number one added a little bit extra and really helped the mindset.“

Thailand’s Sunny Akani was a shock 5-4 winner over Scotland’s four-time World Champion John Higgins. Akani is returning to the professional circuit this season, having earned his tour card through Asia/Oceania Q School. He fired in breaks of 59, 96, 60, 51 and 88 during an impressive victory this evening. Next up for Akani is a meeting with Jimmy Robertson. 

Mark Williams earned his progression thanks to a 5-2 win over Mark Davis, while Matthew Selt beat Joe O’Connor 5-4 in a marathon battle. 

All the results are on snooker.org as always

With so little opportunities to watch it’s hard to comment on the matches but I’m very pleased for Sunny Akani. Ding’s exit is a mini disaster for the event but Alfie played well and deserved the win. Alfie, in my views, is one of the big underachievers in snooker.