Top players tumble out of the Northern Ireland Open

The first round of the Northern Irish Open has produced shock after shock over the first two days of play in Belfast. Less than half of the top 16 seeds have made it through to the second round with Ronnie O'Sullivan and Mark Selby the only members of the top 16 left in the entire bottom half of the draw. 

Monday afternoon saw the exit of home hope Mark Allen. The recent International Champion could not get going against Niu Zhuang as his recent good form failed to show in a surprise 4-1 loss to Niu. Former Northern Ireland Open runner-up Barry Hawkins was taken down in a deciding frame by Chen Zifan, who beat Hawkins in last year's English Open as well as thrashing Murphy in this event 12 months ago. 

The million pound dream ended on Monday evening when English Open champion Stuart Bingham lost out 4-2 to Peter Lines, meaning the £1 million bonus for any player that could win all four Home Nations events is safe for another year. Champion of Champions runner-up Kyren Wilson also exited on Monday evening, starting his match with Lee Walker less than 24 hours after the heartbreaking 10-9 loss to Ronnie O'Sullivan. Walker won the last two frames of the contest to triumph 4-3. 

English Open semi-finalist Stephen Maguire also fell at the first hurdle, losing 4-2 to Michael Holt in what was a tough draw for both players. Fellow Scotsman John Higgins was also left packing his bags earlier than expected as he fell to a 4-2 defeat against Rory McLeod, who gained a much-needed win for his tour survival hopes. Anthony McGill and Graeme Dott completed a bad Monday for the Scottish players, with McGill being whitewashed by Alexander Ursenbacher, while Dott lost out in a decider to Billy Castle. 

Tuesday's play saw the shocks continue as Chen Feilong gained his first ever win as a tour professional by defeating Marco Fu 4-2, with the Hong Kong player's poor form continuing. There was also another disappointing first round exit for Shaun Murphy who succumbed to Sam Baird. Baird had beaten Murphy just last month 6-0 in International Championship qualifying and this time won frames four and five on the black to come from 2-1 down to win 4-2. 

Judd Trump needed to win the last three frames of his match with Matthew Selt to come through 4-2 and avoiding following the over big names out of the tournament in round one. World Champion Mark Williams came through a tricky match 4-2 against Alfie Burden to continue his title defence, but last year's runner-up Yan Bingtao was another of the first round losers, with Zhang Anda winning that all-Chinese clash in a deciding frame. 

World number one Mark Selby came through comfortably 4-1 against Anthony Hamilton, while recent Champion of Champions Ronnie O'Sullivan whitewashed Soheil Vahedi to progress to Wednesday's last 64. Meanwhile, recent International Championship runner-up came back from 3-1 down to avoid being another big name casualty, seeing off a good performance from Ben Woollaston to win 4-3. 

Last 128 results:

Mark Williams 4-2 Alfie Burden
Ali Carter 4-1 Paul Davison
Akani Songsermsawad 4-0 Fan Zhengyi
Xiao Guodong 4-3 Harvey Chandler
Joe Swail 4-1 Luke Simmonds
Nigel Bond 4-2 Joe Perry
Michael White 4-0 Mark Joyce
Eden Sharav 4-3 Li Yuan
Sam Craigie 4-0 Adam Duffy
Li Hang 4-3 Zhang Yong
Kurt Maflin 4-0 Ashley Carty
Neil Robertson 4-3 Ben Woollaston
Mark Davis 4-3 Noppon Saengkham
Luo Honghao 4-2 Lu Haotian
Peter Ebdon 4-0 Patrick Wallace
Lee Walker 4-3 Kyren Wilson
Judd Trump 4-2 Matthew Selt
Stuart Carrington 4-1 Xu Si
Liam Highfield 4-2 James Wattana
Jack Lisowski 4-0 Hossein Vafei
Luca Brecel 4-1 Raymond Fry
Ian Burns 4-1 Farakh Ajaib
Daniel Wells 4-1 Zhao Xintong
Gary Wilson 4-3 Adam Stefanow
Robin Hull 4-1 Jordan Brown
Tian Pengfei 4-3 Mike Dunn
Zhang Anda 4-3 Yan Bingtao
Ryan Day 4-1 Michael Georgiou
Yuan Sijun 4-1 Jamie Clarke
Andrew Higginson W/O Liang Wenbo
Billy Castle 4-3 Graeme Dott
Rory McLeod 4-2 John Higgins

Ronnie O'Sullivan 4-0 Soheil Vahedi
Mei Xiwen 4-0 Zhang Jiankang
Chris Wakelin 4-1 Thor Chuan Leong
Tom Ford 4-3 Rod Lawler
Michael Holt 4-2 Stephen Maguire
Mark King 4-0 John Astley
Zhou Yuelong 4-1 Lukas Kleckers
Kishan Hirani 4-3 Jak Jones
Alan McManus 4-0 Allan Taylor
Lu Ning 4-3 Craig Steadman
Hammad Miah 4-2 Basem Eltahhan
Niu Zhuang 4-1 Mark Allen
Matthew Stevens 4-3 Ricky Walden
Gerard Greene 4-0 Oliver Lines
David Gilbert 4-1 Fergal O'Brien
Chen Zifan 4-3 Barry Hawkins
Sam Baird 4-2 Shaun Murphy
Chris Totten 4-3 Dominic Dale
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4-0 Robert Milkins
Ross Muir 4-1 Elliot Slessor
Peter Lines 4-2 Stuart Bingham
Robbie Williams 4-0 Simon Lichtenberg
Sean O'Sullivan 4-1 Andy Lee
Sanderson Lam 4-3 Joe O'connor
David Lilley 4-2 Duane Jones
Scott Donaldson 4-1 Ken Doherty
Martin O'Donnell 4-3 Jimmy White
Chen Feilong 4-2 Marco Fu
Alexander Ursenbacher 4-0 Anthony McGill
Hamza Akbar 4-2 Ashley Hugill
Jimmy Robertson 4-1 James Cahill
Mark Selby 4-1 Anthony Hamilton

Last 64 draw: (Picks in bold)

Mark Williams Vs Ali Carter
Xiao Guodong Vs Akani Songsermsawad
Nigel Bond Vs Joe Swail
Michael White Vs Eden Sharav
Li Hang Vs Sam Craigie
Neil Robertson Vs Kurt Maflin
Mark Davis Vs Luo Honghao
Peter Ebdon Vs Lee Walker
Judd Trump Vs Stuart Carrington
Jack Lisowski Vs Liam Highfield
Luca Brecel Vs Ian Burns
Gary Wilson Vs Daniel Wells
Robin Hull Vs Tian Pengfei
Ryan Day Vs Zhang Anda
Andrew Higginson Vs Yuan Sijun
Rory McLeod Vs Billy Castle

Ronnie O'Sullivan Vs Mei Xiwen
Tom Ford Vs Chris Wakelin
Mark King Vs Michael Holt
Zhou Yuelong Vs Kishan Hirani
Alan McManus Vs Lu Ning
Niu Zhuang Vs Hammad Miah
Matthew Stevens Vs Gerard Greene
David Gilbert Vs Chen Zifan
Sam Baird Vs Chris Totten
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh Vs Ross Muir
Robbie Williams Vs Peter Lines
Sean O'Sullivan Vs Sanderson Lam
Scott Donaldson Vs David Lilley
Martin O'Donnell Vs Chen Feilong
Alexander Ursenbacher Vs Hamza Akbar
Mark Selby Vs Jimmy Robertson

The one thing that stands out now is how big an opportunity is out there for all of the players that are left in the competition, especially in the bottom half of the draw where only two top 16 players remain. 

At the top end of the draw we will see a last 64 encounter between defending champion Mark Williams and 17th seed Ali Carter. Williams has not found things easy in the last three tournaments and could well be up against it against Carter, who has made back-to-back ranking quarter-finals and looks to be finding some form in recent weeks. If Williams is not quite on top of his game here then Carter is certainly playing well enough to put his name into the draw for the last 32. 

Judd Trump faces Stuart Carrington 12 months after a day he will want to forget. On the brink of defeat, he conceded the match halfway through a frame at 3-2 down by smashing the reds open with his cue, having just flown back from the Shanghai Masters. His head should be in a better place on this occasion and he will surely recognise the opportunity that has already presented itself this week with so many big name casualties. If he is not quite on the money then Carrington is more than capable of putting up a stiff challenge and matching Trump when it comes to heavy scoring. 

Jack Lisowski's 4-0 first round win was quite flattering given the quality of his match with Hossein Vafei and he will need to up his game against the dangerous Liam Highfield. Things could have been very different at the International Championship if Allen had not found his form at the right time against Highfield, who had almost shut Allen out on the way to a 4-0 lead and he is more than capable of doing the same to Lisowski over a shorter format. The one thing that has been impressive with Lisowski in the last year or so is his consistency. No longer are there just flashes of brilliance from him and he is looking like a real tournament contender all the time. 

Luca Brecel is a player that could potentially take advantage of the big boys falling early on in Belfast to end his recent poor form with a good run. However, his form has shown no signs of improvement in recent months and it is the games like the one he faces against Ian Burns that he has been losing all to regularly. As a top 16 player Brecel is expected to win these matches and reach the latter stages of tournaments but it just has not happened for him and it has been a year since his last ranking quarter-final appearance. If he does not up his game then Burns has every chance of adding to the Belgian's woes. 

Ryan Day will be quietly feeling good about his chances of success in Belfast. He will not be sad to see Yan Bingtao lose to Zhang Anda, having lost to him in this event last year and in the last ranking event. Zhang still provides a real threat and is someone who I still believe has a lot of unfulfilled potential. Day is trending the right way though, having made quarter-finals at the European Masters and English Open and given Zhang's lack of consistency, the Welshman will be heavily fancied here. 

In the bottom half, Ronnie O'Sullivan takes on China's Mei Xiwen. O'Sullivan will be very confident of getting the job done here in the sort of match that he has made to look very easy in the last year, making it to the quarter-finals in four of the last five Home Nations events, negotiating these best-of-7 frames matches better than the majority of top players. Mei offers a threat but whether he can produce the heavy scoring against O'Sullivan on the TV table is another question entirely. 

Former Northern Ireland Open champion Mark King takes on Michael Holt in a cracking last 64 tie. King was a 4-0 winner against John Astley in the first round while Holt picked up a nice 4-2 victory against Stephen Maguire. In the recent International Championship Holt showed signs of a return to form in a 6-4 victory against Luo Honghao, just after Luo had reached the quarter-final of the English Open, as Holt made three centuries in the process there. King meanwhile was a semi-finalist last month at the European Masters so is clearly playing well himself, making this a tight one to call and a match that could go the full distance. 

The final match that needs a strong mention is that of Mark Selby against European Masters champion Jimmy Robertson. In the first round, Selby was a 4-1 victor in a tough draw against Anthony Hamilton while Robertson scored heavily with two centuries, one of which was a maximum attempt that saw him miss the yellow on 120, in a 4-1 win against James Cahill. Robertson is clearly cueing well and will never be more confident than he is now after winning the title in Lommel last month. As for Selby, he is most vulnerable over the best-of-7 frame matches and his record in the Home Nations series is one of the few things that the world number one could improve. All in all, this is a very tough last 64 match for both players and like the King/Holt clash it has the potential to go the distance. 

All last 64 matches will be played on Wednesday over the best-of-7 frames with a selection of matches on both Eurosport TV and the Eurosport Player, with the potential for even more upsets.