Two big names exited in the last 64 of the World Open in Yushan with Mark Selby and Shaun Murphy both falling to lower ranked opposition.
Selby had come through his heldover last 128 tie on Monday but he found trouble against Lee Walker. After losing the opener, Walker then claimed four frames on the trot to lead 4-1 despite not making a break of above 50. Selby stayed in the tie at 2-4 and threatened to make one of his trademark comebacks but Walker held on in frame seven and got himself over the line.
As for Murphy, he fell 5-3 to another Welshman in Daniel Wells. Wells also took a 4-1 advantage in the match, aided by a break of 71 in frame four. Murphy put the pressure on though by claiming back to back frames to cut his deficit to just one at 3-4, but Wells finished in style winning the eighth frame with a match high break of 76.
Chinese number one Ding Junhui just about managed to hold on in his last 64 match against fellow countryman Zhang Anda. Ding had raced into a 4-0 lead with breaks of 65, 89 and 128 along the way but Zhang still kept fighting after the mid-session break. Three frames in a row clawed it all the way back to 3-4 and he had a nice lead in frame eight, as he hoped to take the match the distance. It was not to be though, as Ding cleared with a 55 to pinch the frame on the black and complete a nervy 5-3 win.
After starting with runs of 68, 86 and 88 on the way to a 4-0 lead himself, Marco Fu had similar nervous times against Ian Burns who also clawed the match back to 3-4 before Fu fell over the line and booked his place in the last 32. Liang Wenbo was not so lucky though as he lost the final two frames in a 5-4 loss to Li Hang, while Ryan Day completed a nice 5-1 win over Gary Wilson with a borrowed cue.
Fellow Welshmen Jamie Jones, Michael White and Matthew Stevens were all without their own cues for their matches in Yushan and with this poor fortune, were all defeated comfortably. Stevens was whitewashed by Mark Williams who made a 126 break in the fourth frame of the win.
Barry Hawkins was another top name to fall in his last 64 match on Monday, seeing 3-0 and 4-2 leads disappear in an eventual 5-4 loss to Chris Wakelin. He will now face Thepchaiya Un-Nooh after the Thai dispatched Hu Hao 5-2 making a round high break of 142 in the final frame of that match, which will certainly take some beating for the high break prize.
There were some simple victories for members of the top 16, with recent Indian Open champion John Higgins thrashing Alexander Ursenbacher 5-0 with a top break of 95. Meanwhile, Neil Robertson and Mark Allen both completed 5-1 wins, with Robertson making two centuries and three other breaks of above 50 in his triumph.
Last 32 Draw: (Picks in Bold)
Robert Milkins Vs Lee Walker
Anthony McGill Vs Stephen Maguire
Stuart Bingham Vs Cao Yupeng
Luca Brecel Vs Daniel Wells
Marco Fu Vs Peter Ebdon
Ricky Walden Vs Li Hang
Ryan Day Vs Joe Perry
Ding Junhui Vs Xiao Guodong
Jimmy Robertson Vs John Astley
Mark Williams Vs Chen Zhe
Kyren Wilson Vs Michael Holt
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh Vs Chris Wakelin
Neil Robertson Vs Ben Woollaston
Mark Allen Vs Allan Taylor
Martin Gould Vs David Gilbert
John Higgins Vs Matthew Selt
There are certainly some interesting last 32 ties here. It will be interesting to see how McGill and Maguire get on given the result that Maguire gained at the Crucible, while both have showed form by making finals early in the season. Ricky Walden's match with Li Hang looks like another cracker. Walden scored heavily in a comfortable last 64 win, while Li sent Liang home and has been in good form making the semi's of the last Chinese event.
John Astley came through against Sam Craigie in round one and now faces Jimmy Robertson, after Robertson overcame Tom Ford. Astley has won both of his previous meetings with Jimmy, by comfortable 4-1 and 5-1 scorelines, both of which were last season.
I fancy victories for all of the likes of Higgins, Allen, Neil Robertson, Ding and recent China champion Luca Brecel, while Bingham should also come through against Cao Yupeng who has not really kicked on despite qualifying for a number of events so far.
Michael Holt against Kyren Wilson is another interesting one. Wilson comes in a little cold following a round one walkover and the fact that he was not in India last week. Holt though played nicely last week until he ran into John Higgins, and will fancy his chances against an opponent he overcame in China this time last year.
Martin Gould scored heavily against Jack Lisowski in the last 64, while David Gilbert struggled over the line against Tian Pengfei, and will need to up his game if Gould is on form in this one.
All last 32 matches are to be played on Wednesday and are over the same best-of-9 frames format once again.
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