The lucrative invitational event, with its unique format started yesterday in Riyadh, with an opening ceremony and media duties for the players. Here are some images shared by WST:

Bizarrely all four matches played yesterday finished on a 4-0 score.

Here is the report by WST:

DING SIZZLES IN SAUDI AS ZHANG LETS 167 CHANCE SLIP

Ding Junhui fired two centuries in a tremendous display against Shaun Murphy, winning 4-0 to set up a quarter-final with Ronnie O’Sullivan at the Riyadh Season Snooker Championship.

On day one at the Global Theatre in Boulevard City, Zhang Anda set pulses racing by attempting a unique break of 167 which would earn $1 million – the biggest prize in snooker history. He potted 13 reds and 12 blacks in his first frame of the day before missing on 97, and later took eight reds with blacks but failed on the ninth red on 64 with the remaining balls well placed. The action in Saudi Arabia continues on Thursday and Friday, with that magical seven-figure bonus still on offer. Zhang will not have another chance as he lost his second match 4-0 against Luca Brecel.

Ding, winner of the recent International Championship on home territory in China, did not come close to a 167 today but scored heavily in an emphatic defeat of Murphy, setting up an intriguing tie with defending champion O’Sullivan in Riyadh on Thursday night. Champion of this lucrative invitation event on Friday evening will lift the trophy and bank £250,000.

Murphy had a clear opportunity in the opening frame but on 35 he missed the pink to a centre pocket, and that proved a turning point. Ding recovered to take the frame by getting the better of a safety exchange on the brown, then stepped up a gear with a marvellous 143 total clearance for 2-0. His break of 122 in the third was capped by a series of crowd-pleasing exhibition shots, and the world number nine sealed the result in the next with a run of 74.

Ding, who was supported by a group of Chinese fans in the crowd, said: “It was like a home game! My first match helped me get used to the table. Shaun had the first chance and I thought it was going to be a hard game, after that I played well.“

Brecel continued to show signs of a return to form as he beat Zhang with his best performance of the season so far, compiling breaks of 62, 66, 100 and 120. “I was focussed and my cue ball control was good,” said 2023 Crucible king Brecel, who reached the quarter-finals of the BetVictor Scottish Open last week. “That’s the way I have been playing in practice and I have felt for a while that I would start playing like this in matches.“

Earlier in round one, featuring two Saudi Arabian wild cards who came through a qualifying tournament, Ding eased past Abdulraouf Saigh 4-0 with a top break of 108. Zhang’s 4-0 win over Ahmed Aseeri was highlighted by his brace of 167 attempts. In the first he ran out of position on 97 and over-cut a very difficult black, and in the second he missed a routine red with the rest on 64.

” I am a bit disappointed to miss the chance of a 167,” said Zhang. “I concentrated on each shot. Whenever I potted the first red I wanted to get position on the black and go for it.“

There was indeed a good crowd for Ding’s match in the evening, and clearly a lot of Chinese fans had made the trip to Riyadh to support him. The coverage was good, particularly with Steven Hallworth in commentary.

From what I saw, and in contrast with what Zhang said in his interview, the players were mainly focussed on winning their matches and not so much on the golden ball and its humongous bonus. It makes sense. The tournament in itself is lucrative and the longer they stay in the draw, the more opportunities they get to try for a 167 if the situation of the balls happens to be favourable.

That said, as reported by Victoria Shi on social media, the lights started flickering, then went out completely whilst Zhang was in the middle of that 167 attempt. It certainly didn’t help!

All the results are available on snooker.org.