German Masters Day 1

Leeds' Peter Lines caused a big upset as he defeated
John Higgins 5-3 in the last 64 on Wednesday afternoon

The first ranking event of 2013 got underway at the Tempodron in Berlin on Wednesday morning with the final few last 64 matches that were carried over to the main venue being played.

On the main table, Shaun Murphy eased through to the last 32 with a 5-1 victory over Ben Woollaston. Murphy was 3-1 ahead at the interval and won the following two frames, including an 85 break in frame five. Ding Junhui needed a final frame decider to beat compatriot Liu Chuang on an outside table but knocked in a superb 134 in the ninth frame to seal the match.

Dominic Dale also progressed with a 5-3 win over Jimmy White whilst a 5-1 win for Mark Williams saw him beat world number 86 Martin O’Donnell. The other morning match saw recent shoot-out finalist Mark Allen defeat Nigel Bond 5-2.

A surprise 5-3 win for Peter Lines saw him defeat four-times World Champion John Higgins in the afternoon session. Lines took the first two frames and runs of 52 and 96 saw the Leeds man go 4-2 up. Higgins pulled a frame back but a 55 break in frame eight secured an impressive win for Lines.

On the TV table, Mark Selby continued his excellent run of form with a 5-2 win over Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. Selby led 3-1 at the interval but a 129 break for the Thai player put him within a frame of Selby but the recent Masters champion took the next two frames with runs of 104 and 65.

Neil Robertson made short work of his match against Daniel Wells, after whitewashing him 5-0. Meanwhile, Stephen Maguire fought off a spirited effort in the all-Scottish tie against Alan McManus, with the match finishing 5-3 in Maguire’s favour. In a last 32 match, Andrew Higginson caused an upset as the world number 29 knocked out Stuart Bingham 5-1. The Widnes man held a commanding 4-0 lead at the interval and also took the sixth to knock out Bingham.

Judd Trump staved off a spirited comeback from 43-year-old James Wattana to win his last 64 match in the evening session. Trump was 3-1 up at the interval, including a tournament high break of 141 in the first frame, but his Thai opponent won frames five six and seven to go 4-3 ahead. Trump though won the eighth to force an equaliser and then knocked in a break of 106 to seal progress.

Norway’s Kurt Maflin also needed a final frame decider to defeat Xiao Guodong of China in the last 32 whilst Matthew Stevens defeated Jamie Burnett 5-1. Amateur player Fraser Patrick looked to cause an upset against Ali Carter after leading 3-1 at the interval but The Captain won the next four to win 5-3. The other remaining last 32 match of the night saw Barry Hawkins beat Dechawat Poomjaeng 5-2.