Wuxi Classic Day 2

Jamie Burnett caused one of the upsets today with a 5-1 win
over former World Champion Neil Robertson

There were plenty of shock results in the first round of the Wuxi Classic with a number of seeded players being knocked out by qualifier players. Neil Robertson was the highest ranked player to be knocked out as the world number seven was defeated convincingly, 5-1, by Jamie Burnett. The Scotsman was 3-1 up by the interval and a number of errors by Robertson in the next two frames gifted the world 39 passage to the last 16.

Later in the evening session, Ding Junhui, Ali Carter and Martin Gould were also knocked out of the tournament. Local hero Ding was on the end of a 5-2 defeat against Mark Davis after the Hastings man caused another surprise in the tournament. The game was finely balance at 2-2 at the interval however Davis won the following three frames against a disappointing Ding. World Championship runner-up Carter was knocked out by Fergal O’Brien who recorded an impressive 5-3 victory. The opening encounters were close with the scores at 3-3 after 6 frames but the Irishman clinched the match by winning the next two frames. Finally, Stoke man Jamie Cope defeated Gould by the same 5-3 scoreline, in similar fashion. Again the scores were locked at 3-3 but Cope finished strongly to set up a tie with Mark Selby in the last 16.

Other First Round matches that occurred during the afternoon session saw last week’s APTC winner Stuart Bingham squeeze past Peter Ebdon after a deciding frame. Also, Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen cruised past wildcard entry Rouzi Maimaiti by five frames to one.

Also, the final two wildcard rounds took place on Tuesday with Michael White, who was playing in his first ranking event unluckily defeated by Zhou Yuelong. The match was won by the wildcard entry after a deciding frame. Meanwhile, in the other wildcard match, Ken Doherty was lucky to defeat Lu Ning. 17-year-old Ning who has won his last two wildcard round matches at both the World Open and China Open, went 4-2 up after winning the two frames after the interval. However veteran Doherty forced a decider and despite Ning potting the brown and facing an easy clear-up of blue, pink and black, the cue ball cruelly dropped into the middle pocket and Ken had the simplest tasks or potting the re-spotted brown to clinch victory.