There were a few upsets in the first round of the 2026 Englisg Open, a round that concluded yesterday.
Notably, Zhao Xintong lost by 4-2 to Oliver Lines, Neil Robertson lost by 4-3 to 25 years old rookie on tour Luo Zetao, Ross Muir got the better of top 16 member Xiao Guodong and 18 years old rookie Wang Zinbo beat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh, ranked 17th, by 4-2.
2019 World Champion Judd Trump admitted that only a week ending with silverware can be deemed a successful one, after getting his BetVictor English Open campaign underway with a 4-0 win over Jordan Brown in Brentwood.
The Ace in the Pack has enjoyed a winning start to the season after lifting silverware at the Shanghai Masters. However, he recently lost his world number one spot to 2025 Crucible king Zhao Xintong.
31-time ranking event winner Trump was visibly frustrated after suffering a 6-3 loss to eventual winner Jak Jones in the semi-finals of last week’s British Open. However, breaks of 87 and 68 helped him ease to a bounce-back win this evening. Next up he faces Ashley Carty.
“Any time you can win as comfortably as that is good. You want to save as much energy as possible. This is a busy part of the season. We’ve been playing pretty much every week for the last month and a half. You want to conserve energy and breeze throughout the opening rounds,” said 37-year-old Trump.
“It is a difficult sport to play because nine times out of ten you are going to go home unhappy every week. There are a lot more lows than there are highs in snooker. It is difficult but I think I’ve got better at managing it. I feel a lot of the time I’m not at my best so it can be disappointing. This season I feel pretty good so it hurts that much more when you do lose.“
Weshman Mark Williams reaffirmed his desire to continue competing indefinitely after scoring a 4-3 win over Thailand’s Thanawat Tirapongpaiboon.
Fellow Class of 92 members Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins, who aren’t competing this week, have recently discussed their plans to step away from the sport in the coming years. However, Williams says he has no plans for hanging up his cue.
51-year-old Williams said: “The other two have said they are going to finish in a couple of years, I’m going to be carrying on for whatever it is. I’ll be playing as much as I can.
“I’ll be playing in the amateur game or anything. You don’t have to worry about me. The other two, my compadres, say they will retire in a couple of years and that is good news for the rest. I’m going to carry on, even when I go down the rankings.
“We aren’t the players we used to be. John is nowhere near as good as he was. Ronnie is a patch on what he used to be. They put a time limit on it and I’ve accepted I’m nowhere near as good as I was.“
Last week’s losing British Open finalist Mark Selby scored a narrow 4-3 win over Ricky Walden to seal his progression. Next up the Leicester cueman faces China’s Zhang Anda.
Jamie Clarke was a 4-3 winner over David Gilbert, while Barry Hawkins overcame Lyu Haotian 4-2.
Mark Williams stance may surprise some but there is a story behind it. When, in 2014, he lost in the World Championship qualifiers, he felt very low and wanted to retire. His wife, Joanne, told him firmly that this wasn’t an option, that there is only so much golf he can play and that she wasn’t having him “sitting around the house” all day, day after day. Mark listened to her and his resurgence as a top player was/is remarkable. He always gives Joanne credit for it as well.
