Murphy, recent winner of the Welsh Open, took out the Welshman in Magician-esque fashion. It was an emphatic and utter demolition of Hirani with a 77-0 scoreline. With that win, the Englishman secured safe passage into the second round of the tournament.
Next in line were Sohail Vahedi and Ben Woollastoon, who progressed at the expense of their respective opponents. Both players had to overcome nervy and tense affairs to come out tops with Vahedi, soiling Alfie Burden’s hopes on a blue ball shot and posting a 42-37 scorecard in the process. Ben Woollastoon also held his nerves to dispatch Duane Jones 41-23.
Perhaps the most interesting tie of the day was that between two teenagers aged 15 and 17. This quick-paced tournament looks suited for cueists who are extremely quick at making shots, and it was lovely seeing young folks try their luck.
Another exciting thing about the tie was that the 15-year-old is a stepson to Mark Allen. Unfortunately, Robbie McGuigan couldn’t stand his ground against 17-year-old Aaron Hill. The latter secured a 50-15 victory over his younger mate to go through to the next round of the tournament.
The first surprise defeat of the day came just hours later when Jordan Brown knocked out the higher-ranked Scott Donaldson. Brown recorded a break of 66 to take out Donaldson 67-35. Another was in the duel between amateur Ross Bulman and Michael Georgiou. With the host of chances both players missed, it looked as though none was interested in coming out victorious. However, it was the Irishman Ross Bulman who got over the line after a series of back and forth play from both players.
Ricky Walden attempted a comeback against Tian Pengfei, but he just came up short. Walden tried usurping Pengfei from only 30 points down with only two minutes left on the clock to play. However, just as he was about sealing victory, he missed a good chance and allowed Pengfei gratefully to slide past him to a 71-61 win.
Written by: Roland Arum
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