Early days in China

The first couple of days are over and half of the round 1 matches have been completed. So far we have seen dominant perfromances from Scotland as 3 of their 4 representatives are through to the second round. However we have seen a fantastic performance from Jack Lisowski to dump out Judd Trump in Round 1, which now means that Mark Selby will regain the No.1 ranking if he reaches the quarter-finals. There were also departures for John Higgins as Robert Milkins came from 3-1 down and 4-3 down to win 5-4, and Matthew Stevens who lost 5-2 to Rory McLeod. However, my 2 dark horses for the event both made it through to the second round. Ali Carter got the win that he really needed to take a stronger hold on the 15th place ranking, and therefore the 16th seed for The Crucible. He beat Zhao Xintong 5-2. Shaun Murphy beat Andrew Higginson 5-3, avoiding another potential first round banana skin.

Day 1: Scots dominate Beijing

Graeme Dott fought back from 2-0 down to beat Marco Fu 5-3, with a top break of 76 and i thought that Dott showed a slight glimmer of how he can play, something he really needs to find before the World Championship. His incredible fighting qualities showed once more from 2-0, fighting back to 2-2 at the interval, especially as Marco Fu had the chance for a 3-1 lead. Dott shone after the interval and went 4-2 ahead. Breaks of 54 and 66 from Fu got it back to 4-3, but Dott held on for the 5-3 win.

In the only other round 1 match on day 1, Stephen Maguire came from 3-1 down to win 5-3. Holt took the first 2 frames with a break of 105 in the second frame. Maguire fought back with a break of 133 to make it 2-1. Michael wasn't fazed though and made it 3-1 with a 101. Maguire hit form after the mid-session break though breaks of 63, 66 and 62 giving him all of the last four frames for a 5-3 victory.

Day 2: Higgins, Trump and Stevens out. Murphy, Carter through.

Shaun Murphy and Ali Carter made it through on a day where 3 other top 16 players were knocked out, along with defending champion Peter Ebdon. Murphy made top breaks of 50, 52, 89 and 61 on the way to a 5-3 victory over Andrew Higginson. Meanwhile Ali Carter came back from losing the first frame to Zhao Xintong, to beat the wildcard 5-2 with high breaks of 50, 58, 63 and 76.

Peter Ebdon was knocked out by Marcus Campbell, losing 5-3. There were only 3 breaks of 50+ in the whole match, in what was another lenghty affair involving the defending champion. Ebdon made a breaks of 67 and 53 after Campbell stole the first frame by 1 point. From 2-2 though Ebdon only won 1 more frame as Campbells top break of 53 came in the third frame.

John Higgins lost against Robert Milkins by a 5-4 scoreline, despite the Gloucesterman not making a break of above 50. Higgins made breaks of 64 and 60 on the way to a 3-1 lead. The Milkman levelled it up at 3-3, only for Higgins to regain the lead with a 116 century break. Milkins though took a tense last 2 frames, to record another famous Chinese victory.

Rory McLeod came from 2-1 down to beat Haikou World Open runner-up Matthew Stevens 5-2. Stevens opened up with a break of 62 to lead 1-0. At 2-2 it still looked ok for the Welshmen until McLeod came out and made a 134 break (the highest of the first round so far) and then a break 52 consolidated his lead. The Dentist ground out the seventh frame to take out the match.

The clash of the day by far though, was Jack Lisowski's 5-3 victory over good friend Judd Trump. Lisowski took the first frame with a break of 85, only for Trump to level with a 58 break. This is where Jack began to show his class with a magnificent 131 break. The World No.1 took the next 2 though to lead 3-2. His practice partner won all of the last 3 frames in style with breaks of 63, 80 and 94 to close out the match 5-3. This really was a fantastic victory for Jack Lisowski who has now beaten the world's top 2 in the space of 2 tournaments, to remind us all of the future star of the game he is sure to be.

Wednesday's Round 1 matches

6.30 am (UK Time)

Ding Junhui Vs Barry Hawkins
Mark Davis Vs Dechawat Poomjaeng
Ricky Walden Vs Ken Dohery
Mark Williams Vs Lu Haotian

11.30 (UK Time)

Mark Selby Vs Mark King
Neil Robertson Vs Jimmy Robertson
Mark Allen Vs Anthony McGill
Stuart Bingham Vs Liang Wenbo

Shaping up for an exciting week already in Beijing!