Judd Trump has never been past the quarter-finals of the Unibet British Open but hopes he can improve that record this week and he started strongly by coming from 2-0 down to beat Dylan Emery 4-2 in the opening round in Cheltenham.
For the first time in two years, Trump comes into an event without the world number one status, having been knocked off the top of the Johnstone’s Paint World Rankings by Zhao Xintong last week. Down to number five, Trump may feel he can keep under the radar with less pressure and get back to winning ways as he seeks a first title in seven months.
Underdog Emery started well tonight with breaks of 107 and 125 in the first two frames, but Trump stormed back to take the next four with a top run of 111.
“Overall I played OK,” said Trump, who now meets Ricky Walden in the last 64 on Wednesday. “I don’t know what it is about this tournament but I have never done that well. I had a good game against Shaun Murphy in the last 16 last year and just missed out, otherwise in this event I have played poorly. I’m trying to rectify that. In this format you have to get off to a quick start otherwise you’re under pressure.
“I like the random draw for this event, it adds more excitement for people watching on TV. There are good match-ups early on and the draw can open up for players further down the rankings. Personally in any tournament I never know who I’m playing until my brother tells me when I’m about to go on. In the past I would sometimes look too far ahead in the draw and that got me into trouble. So now I don’t look until the last minute and try not to think about who I’ve got.”
Murphy made a strong start to the defence of his title as he saw off Reanne Evans 4-0 with top breaks of 63 and 87. Mark Williams, short of sleep having returned from the Wuhan Open just hours earlier, was thumped 4-0 by David Gilbert.
World Champion Wu Yize edged out Liu Hongyu 4-3 while John Higgins top scored with 92 in a 4-1 win over Hossein Vafaei. Chris Wakelin came from 3-1 down to edge out Luca Brecel 4-3, while Kyren Wilson enjoyed a 4-1 success against Florian Nuessle.
Mark Selby made a 126 in the deciding frame to beat David Lilley 4-3, while world number two Neil Robertson went down 4-1 against Pang Junxu.
Local favourite Jack Lisowski came through a dramatic opening test against Mitchell Mann at the Unibet British Open, winning 4-3 on the final black to reach the last 32.
Lisowski lives in Churchdown, just a few miles away from Cheltenham Racecourse, and the popular potter is sure to draw plenty of support if he can forge a deep run this week on home turf. He was pushed all the way by last year’s quarter-finalist Mann but finished strongly to set up a tie with Ishpreet Singh Chadha in the third round.
“It’s always good to play in front of my home crowd and it would be amazing to win it,” said Lisowski, who landed his first ranking title at the Northern Ireland Open last season. “I’m playing OK but I know I’ll have to get better.”
After losing the opening frame, Lisowski made a 104 for 1-1, then Mann compiled runs of 75 and 71 to go 3-1 ahead and he had chances to seal victory but couldn’t take them. Breaks of 88 and 53 helped Lisowski recover to 3-3, then in the decider he trailed 64-34 but laid a snooker on the last red which set up the chance for a 33 clearance.
Liam Davies enhanced his reputation as one of snooker’s best young British talents as he beat Barry Hawkins 4-2. The 20-year-old Welshman knocked out Ding Junhui and Gary Wilson on his way to the last 16 of the recent Wuhan Open, and he took another scalp tonight as breaks of 91, 64, 74 and 95 helped him to a fine win over world number ten Hawkins.
“I’ve been working with the psychologist Dr Tom Bates and that has really helped me keep the right attitude in matches,” said Davies. “When I get into positions to win I am trying to take them in one chance rather than scraping over the line. It’s a massive part of sport, particularly in snooker when you have a long time sitting in your chair and negative thoughts can creep in.”
Kyren Wilson enjoyed an impressive 4-1 win over Crucible king Wu Yize, while Zhang Anda edged out Chris Wakelin 4-3 after getting the better of a safety battle on the last red in the deciding frame.
Championship League winner Jak Jones was in superb form in a 4-0 win over last year’s runner-up Anthony McGill, knocking in breaks of 118, 131, 53 and 84. Chang Bingyu, who landed his first ranking title just three days ago at the Wuhan Open, kept his hot streak going with a 4-1 win over Chatchapong Nasa.
Ding Junhui fired runs of 86 and 82 in a 4-0 defeat of Sean O’Sullivan, while Elliot Slessor enjoyed a 4-1 success against Jamie Clarke. Thailand’s Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon came from 3-1 down to beat Ali Carter 4-3, making a 76 in the decider.
Iulian Boiko scored the best win of his career so far as he beat Ding Junhui 4-1 to reach the last 16 of the Unibet British Open in Cheltenham.
Ukraine’s gifted Boiko is into the random draw for the last 16, with that round to take place on Thursday evening. It’s his deepest run in a ranking event, other than an appearance in the semi-finals of the Shoot Out last season.
“It’s by far my best win. To beat a legend of the game like Ding, it’s an unbelievable feeling,” said Boiko, who scored breaks of 67, 51 and 55 during a fine performance at the Centaur Arena.
“I found something in practice a month ago. I started playing really well and scoring heavier, which is really important in today’s game. I have been working on the tactical side for a couple of years, but now it’s time to work on my scoring. My position wasn’t great today, but I potted everything to keep the breaks going. There are still things I can improve, but maybe I can play even better.
“I love this venue. The atmosphere is great, it’s nice to play in front of the fans in a big arena, and it feels different to the qualifiers. It’s really inspiring, especially to play with someone like Mark Selby on the next table. If I can beat Ding, then I can beat anyone if I play well.“
Local favourite Jack Lisowski scored his second consecutive 4-3 win as he thrilled his fans with a fabulous fight-back from 3-1 down against Ishpreet Singh Chadha, storming through the last three frames with breaks of 91, 120 and 112.
Mark Selby played all 14 of a possible 14 frames in his two matches today but came through with two 4-3 victories. The China Open champion edged out Lei Peifan 4-3 in the morning session, making a break of 72 in the deciding frame, then in the evening he knocked out Jackson Page with a top break of 113. Selby has now won his last 18 best-of-seven frame matches in this event, nine of those by a 4-3 scoreline.
Wuhan Open champion Chang Bingyu saw his winning sequence ended by a 4-1 defeat against Jak Jones, who fired breaks of 111 and 72. Latvia’s Artemijs Zizins reached the last 16 of a ranking event for the second time as he saw off He Guoqiang 4-1.
Earlier in the day, defending champion Shaun Murphy was beaten 4-2 by David Gilbert, who knocked in breaks of 117, 78, 65 and 87. He now meets Liam Davies in the last 32 on Thursday afternoon. Judd Trump saw off Ricky Walden 4-2 with a top run of 96 and now faces Elliot Slessor. John Higgins edged out Noppon Saengkham 4-3 to earn a tie with Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon. World number one Zhao Xintong saw off Daniel Wells 4-2 – his next opponent is Michael Holt.
I haven’t much to add. The event is actually not that easy to “follow” … especially for someone living in Greece. A lot of short matches, played in parallel, and a very late finish too. It was nearly 3h 30′ this morning here in Greece when the last of “yesterday”‘s matches finished … just as well it ended on a 4-0 score… 😉. And no, I didn’t stay up to watch it.