Northern Ireland Open snooker 2020 LIVE – Higgins and Allen both progress comfortably
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ByEurosport
Updated 17/11/2020 at 22:13 GMT
Northern Ireland Open 2020 LIVE - Ronnie O’Sullivan and Judd Trump kicked off day one of the Home Nations event with comfortable wins on Monday. Trump is bidding for a third straight victory at the tournament, having defeated O'Sullivan in the final in 2018 and 2019 in Belfast. However, attention on Tuesday turns to Mark Allen, Mark Selby and Neil Robertson who begin their campaigns.
Steht beim Champion of Champions im Finale: Mark Allen
Image credit: Getty Images
Righto, that's us
We'll see you again tomorrow.
Mark Allen speaks
"Yeah, I played well there," he says, saying he didn't really miss anything and his safety was good. He says he enjoyed it when it got tactical because he was getting on top, and you could really see that. He goes on to say that he's potting as well as he's ever done. Jimmy tells us that he has his table recovered every six weeks. and Allen says that although on outside tables, they can play a bit slow, the main table at tournaments is usually true, and mainly he wants to enjoy his practice, so can't be having the balls bouncing about.
Mark Allen beats Anthony Hamilton 4-0
That's by far the best performance I've seen so far this week. Hamilton played well, but Allen has dominated him in all aspects of the game and fully earned the whitewash, which he caps with back to back centuries, this one a 125. He plays Robert Milkins next; good luck old mate.
Allen 3-0 Hamilton (56-0)
Allen gets to 51 and has to force a red coming up for the blue; he pulls it off and still looks in control. He has to deploy the rest, rolls home nicely, lands on the pink, and he's almost there.
Allen 3-0 Hamilton (14-0)
Hamilton has a think, then plays a long pot because he can't find anything better; he misses by a way and invites Allen to partake of a leaden table. That could easily be that.
Around the tables
Wallace 3-1 Ajaib
Woolaston 4-3 Walden (finished)Jimmy
Perry 0-0 Williams R
Slessor 1-0 Li
Taylor Al 2-0 Vafei
Allen 3-0 Hamilton
A run of 111 puts Allen on the cusp. Lovely stuff.
Allen 2-0 Hamilton (76-0)
This is going to be 3-0. Allen is playing beautifully.
Allen 2-0 Hamilton (45-0)
So Allen caresses home a difficult one, again finishing on nowt, so he plays another good safety, and this time it earns him a chance. He's quickly onto the black, and looks solid about the table. His safety has been fantastic tonight - he's really in great shape. He'll always have the potting, but if he can be clever and patient like this on a reg, he'll be some player. He already is.
Allen 2-0 Hamilton (10-0)
Another long period of safety, and this time Allen outlasts Hamilton, but when he gets to the table he can't quite make it work; he's frustrated, but then detonates another glorious effort, leaving Hamilton puzzling over how to get safely back to baulk. He catches his shot a little thick, but doesn't leave anything easy.
Around the tables
Boiko 0-4 White M (finished)
Wallace 3-0 Ajaib
Woolaston 3-3 Walden
Perry 0-0 Williams R
Taylor Al 1-0 Vafei
Allen 2-0 Hamilton
Finally! That was a great frame, with some brilliant shots - especially from Allen.
Allen 1-0 Hamilton (68-35)
Hamilton leaves the red and Allen pots it, but can't get at anything else. Hamilton returns with two snookers needed, lays one, and Allen does really well to get out of it. On we go, chasing the yellow.
Allen 1-0 Hamilton (67-35)
This is really a colossal frame now. Hamilton takes ages deciding how to respond to a snooker, hits, and leaves a testing pot; Allen sticks him in another, probably also because all the remaining balls are available. His safety has been properly on point so far tonight, and after much deliberation, Hamilton misses his escape. Man, Allen is loving this, laying yet another snooker and watching the points accumulate. But Hamilton gets free when still in the frame - he needs everything that's left, but nothing's out of commission - and also gets the red safe.
Allen 1-0 Hamilton (55-35)
Again, Allen can't close out, but he finds another safety that directly earns him another go. He misses the last red though, so a chase for it commences, and Hamilton almost pulls off a fine pot, sends the white in instead, and apologises for knocking the red safe, onto the baulk cushion. But the balls are set nicely for a snooker, so Allnen is good ... but he overhits his attempt and leaves a tempter. Hamilton, knowing what a huge frame this is, refuses it.
Allen 1-0 Hamilton (51-35)
Allen slightly overruns a red and the two he was looking at are covering one another. So he plays a really good safety, Hamilton can't find a decent riposte, and that should be the frame, which will have been decided by one particular quality: when Hamilton didn't get on a ball, his lost concentration and missed; when Allen didn't, he found a decisive tactical move instead.
Allen 1-0 Hamilton (15-35)
But Hamilton misses a red to the middle - "Relatively easy," says Uncle Joe, who reckons he was naused at having to play it and not the one he'd previously designated. Weell be even more naused at leaving a player of Allen's calibre a table of this nature, especially after playing some dfficult shots to make it his.
Allen 1-0 Hamilton (1-28)
Mark takes on a difficult blue having potted the first red, misses, and gives Anthony a shot at a table that's not especially inviting. But he picks away and takes the chance to crack the pack off a black - I got rhymes for dimes - with a red still loose. It doesn't go especially well but it does go well enough, and he works his way into a very nifty position.
Around the tables
Bingham 3-1 Lines
Boiko 0-4 White M (finished)
Wallace 1-0 Ajaib
Woolaston 2-2 Walden
Allen 1-0 Hamilton
I'm sure Allen would love to win the Northern Ireland Open, though it's being played in Milton Keynes, and he's made a solid start to that bid. You don't want to give a lead to someone in the form he's in, but that's exactly what Hamilton's done.
Allen 0-0 Hamilton (49-28)
Allen traps Hamilton behind the pink and on the side cushion, milking the fouls that follow until an escape hits and puts him in the balls. "I like that shot growls Uncle Joe" when he plays for a difficult red, but it doesn't work well and he ends up having to knock in his insurance red over the centre. He then rams home the yellow, but comes too far down the table - he's been chasing for a few shots now - but a good red puts him back in prime position.
Allen 0-0 Hamilton (1-28)
Higgins nails Allen behind the green and uses the subsequent positional advantage to get in among the balls. He's got to be one of the longest-serving pros - I've been watching him since the mid-90s. But thinking about position off the final loose red, he takes his eye off the pot and leaves it for Mark. But he can't get on a colur, so we go back to playing safety.
Mark Allen
Is in great form, beating your Ronnies, your Judds and your Neils to win the Champion of Champions last week. Hamilton is a decent player, but there'll need to be a serious drop-off for him to make it through this.
Coming up next
Mark Allen v Anthony Hamilton
Higgins speaks
He explains that his brilliant performance was inspired by the Scotland football team, and that corona has encouraged him to enjoy his game and his life. "He's on the back foot right away," Higgins says of his first-frame 144 - you reckon? - and he'd heard the frame was pinging, so was prepared to underhit shots, but it played nicely.
Around the tables
Bingham 1-1 Lines
Boiko 0-1 White M
Wallace 1-0 Ajaib
Woolaston 2-1 Walden
Higgins beats Wells 4-0!
Brilliant performance from the W of W, done and done in 51 minutes. He plays Patrick Wallace or Farakh Ajaib next; currently Walllace leads 1-0.
Higgins 3-0 Wells (46-1)
"You get the feeling that Daniel Wells will be looking for the door now," says Neal, talking about the feeling of playing badly for the world to see. Ouch. He misses another opportunity, and that will definitely be his last shot.
Higgins 3-0 Wells (29-1)
But Higgins can't make it count ... but nor can Wells, missing a red into the centre. When you know your opponent is this good and playing this well, the stress of each shot must be extremely intense. This will likely be over in the next three or four minutes ... or will it! Higgins is right behind a red along the top cushion and close to the pocket, forcing it to get position ... except he misses the pot! How!
Higgins 3-0 Wells (6-1)
Wells finds a really good starter, but then misses the green, which wasn't a sitter but still - that's what pressure does, because he and we know what's coming next. Here it is!
Around the tables
Bingham 0-1 Lines
Boiko 0-0 White M
Wallace 1-0 Ajaib
Woolaston 2-1 Walden
Higgins 3-0 Wells
Higgins is purring like George Galloway on Celebrity Big Brother.
Higgins 2-0 Wells (22-0)
But on 28, Higgins runs out of position, bringing Wells back to baulk; Wells actually gets the next go, but he can't keep Higgins off the table for long, and he's soon plodding about easing balls into pockets once again.
Higgins 2-0 Wells (22-0)
Guess what?! Higgins is in again! the more i think about that last break, the better it was - never out of position, always in control, pretty much perfection.
Around the tables
Bingham 0-1 Lines
Wallace 0-0 Ajaib
Woolaston 1-1 Walden
Higgins 2-0 Wells
I wonder how many balls John Higgins has potted in his life; verily, the mind it doth boggle. This one exudes expertise, never out of position, everything rolled in, and that's a total clearance 144, the best of the tournament so far.
Higgins 1-0 Wells (86-0)
Kurt Maflin leads the highest break competition with 135, but there's 145 available here - I don't think Higgins will get that because there's a red up in baulk and the remainder near or above the pink. Still, he's looking very smart indeed.
Higgins 1-0 Wells (23-0)
Wells takes on a long red that's not that long and looks pretty simple, but in trying to hold for the black he misses it, and leaves plenty for Higgins to go at, starting with a red into the middle. If he can get down to the black, which he can, he'll start manoeuvring through the spaces and accumulating very quickly, a delightful cannon opening up the table. His grasp of how this game works is a phenomenon.
Around the tables
Bingham 0-0 Lines
Wallace 0-0 Ajaib
Woolaston 0-1 Walden
Higgins 1-0 Wells
And there it is.
Higgins 0-0 Wells (66-44)
Higgins will know he's got away with one here, but he question for Wells is can he hold it down? You don't get many chances against this lad, and he's just wasted a very good one.
Higgins 0-0 Wells (46-44)
Good stuff from Wells, who closes to within two points ... then misses a pretty straightforward cut to the corner.I can't see him getting a second chance, and that will knock him sick.
Higgins 0-0 Wells (46-0)
Wells is 57 in the world and is in alright nick at the moment, but he'll need to go some to win tonight. And, shonuff, Higgins is first in from Wells' break, quickly rattling though 46 points before snuggling the white in between pink and various reds. He's got a cut with the rest though ... which he misses! It did not look like Wells was getting another go here, but there's a red to the centre and plenty of points left on the table.
Right, away we go!
Mmm, snooker.
John Higgins
Looks to be getting his mojo back. Since he won his first world title, I've been to university, got married, been to law school, been a lawyer, got divorced, become a writer, got married, had a child, and numerous other things. It's incredible that he's still at it at such a high level and with such ludicrous moxie.
This evening
We have John Higgins v Daniel Wells, followed by Mark Allen v Anthony Hamilton!
The afternoon session is over
Join me in, er, 20 minutes for the evening go-around.
Around the tables
Cahill 3-1 Haotian
Jianbo 4-1 Ochoiski (finished)
O'Brien 2-2 Hugill
Stevens beats Robertson 4-2!
That's a great win for Stevens, who comes from 2-0 down and a place of extreme anger to book a second-round tie with Mark Davis. Robertson looks extremely poorly, as you would.
Stevens 3-2 Robertson (19-26)
But it's Robertson who has the next chance, and it's a really good one. The reds are nicely spread, though with the pink on the brown spot, there's work to do clearing routes for the black, which he does ... only to miss it off it's spot! That might be curtains; Robertson has created a chance for himself, now here's Stevens to guzzle it down. This game!
Stevens 3-2 Robertson (13-0)
Stevens gets in first but a poor positional shot has him turning away in dizguzt. so he gets out the rest - not something he's wont to do - and plays an ok safety.
Around the tables
Cahill 2-1 Haotian
Jianbo 3-1 Ochoiski
O'Brien 1-2 Hugill
Stevens 3-2 Robertson
And there it is. Stevens sinks some simple balls to go one up with two to play and Robertson looks ill.
Stevens 2-2 Robertson (59-36)
But no! My SkyGo crashes, so I don't see what he misses, but he misses something and surely this is three on the spin for Stevens!
Stevens 2-2 Robertson (59-25)
Both players are attacking things when they get the opportunity, and Stevens gets stuck into this table with all the stored-up rage from that earlier missed black. But with frame at his mercy, he thinks he's run out of position but espies a plant that will be available once the straight black goes down. Except he misses it, and Robertson sees away a tricky red that suddenly makes him favourite for the frame!
Stevens 2-2 Robertson (0-24)
Robertson gets in first and looks forced to play safe when he runs out of position, but instead spanks a blue into the green pocket ... only to miss, and leave, the next red.
Around the tables
Cahill 1-1 Haotian
Jianbo 2-1 Ochoiski
O'Brien 0-2 Hugill
Stevens 2-2 Robertson
Best of three it is.
Stevens 1-2 Robertson (78-4)
Stevens plays frame-ball - a tricky black - left-handed, and he's suddenly looking the better player.
Stevens 1-2 Robertson (30-4)
Robertson drains a terrific opening red to the top right but shortly afterwards goes in-off when potting the blue. Stevens, though, misses a red, anguish consuming his phizog, then Robertson misses an easy one and this is a proper chance for 2-2, which Stevens sets about with no little venom.
Around the tables
Sijun 4-3 Honghao (finished)
Cahill 1-1 Haotian
Jianbo 2-1 Ochoiski
O'Brien 0-2 Hugill
Stevens 1-2 Robertson
A decent 42 and Stevens is in business, though he still looks fairly displeased with existing.
Stevens 0-2 Robertson (43-25)
Robertson tries a fine cut on the black and gets nowhere near but it works as a safety - though it's Stevens who gets next go at the table. This is a proper chance to get on the board, set up by an excellent first pot.
Stevens 0-2 Robertson (27-25)
But Robertson misses the next red; what can Stevens find? Well he pots a difficult starter and fiddles his way into the twenties without ever looking comfortable, then runs out of position after a fine red into the middle. He still tries for a nails black, overcutting it, and returns to his seat to see Robertson use it, left over the pocket, to help home his opening red.
Stevens 0-2 Robertson (0-22)
Robertson rattles home a gorgeous straight red, crack against the back of the top left; that looks ominous for Stevens, likewise a black that follows a few shots later and the next red. This break is developing into a framewinner.
Around the tables
Akani 4-3 Brown (finished)
Carter 4-1 Hancorn (finished)
Sijun 3-3 Honghao
Cahill 0-1 Haotian
Jianbo 1-1 Ochoiski
O'Brien 0-1 Hugill
Stevens 0-2 Robertson
A long red seals things and Stevens, who's had chances in both frames, looks profoundly unhappy with the unbearable lightness of being.
Stevens 0-1 Robertson (28-67)
If Stevens was furious then he'll be raging now, because Robertson is despatching balls with alacrity. He needs to liven up and fast, or this'll be over. Anyhow, a 67 leaves Stevens needing one snooker to tie, so we'll have a bit of chasing before the frame is in the books.
Stevens 0-1 Robertson (28-8)
Stevens looks settled, in first and smoothly removing balls. There's a lot of work to do to turn this into a framewinner, but no one expected him to overcut an easy black that makes him extremely furious. Robertson is in now, splitting the pack and looking set for a decent contribution.
Around the tables
Akani 3-3 Brown
Carter 3-1 Hancorn
Hawkins 4-2 McManus (finished)
Sijun 3-2 Honghao
Cahill 0-0 Haotian
Jianbo 1-0 Ochoiski
O'Brien 0-1 Hugill
Stevens 0-1 Robertson
Robertson does just enough to keep Stevens in his seat.
Stevens 0-0 Robertson (8-49)
Both players look edgy, as Robertson's break peters out the Stevens chucks everything at a tricky red and misses. Robertson will surely clinch the frame from here.
Stevens 0-0 Robertson (8-24)
Stevens is one of the few players Ronnie rates, and it's strange that he's not won more in his career. But he seems to be coming back - he's been practising harder of late, apparently - and beat Ronnie at the English Open. Uncle Joe notes a particular red he missed when leading in the 2000 world final against Mark Williams that changed his life, and he also led Shaun Murphy 10-6 overnight in the 2005 final. Anyway, Robertson gets in first but then misses a tight red along the top cushion, leaving it over the pocket. Stevens, though, puts too much action on the pot and Robertson is soon back at the table.
Selbz speaks
"In and out," he says pf his performance, saying that Higginson didn't play as he can, and notes that the 40s he was making don't win frames. He and Ronnie seems to have, er, squashed their beef and luxuriate in chalk-related discourse. Ronnie reckons that if your game is in good order you're not fussed about chalk and Selbs agrees, saying you'll do anything to find a bit form and usually end up where you started.
Coming up next
Matthew Stevens v Jimmy Robertson
Around the tables
Akani 3-2 Brown
Carter 2-1 Hancorn
Hawkins 3-1 McManus
Sijun 2-2 Honghao
Jianbo 0-0 Ochoiski
O'Brien 0-0 Hugill
Selby beats Higginson 4-1!
He plays Lukas Kleckers next.
Selby 3-1 Higginson (80-60)
Higginson comes back to the table 25 behind with blue, pink and black left.; good luck with that. He pots the blue, and will now try for the two snookers or one black-ball snooker he needs for a respot.
Selby 3-1 Higginson (80-55)
What on earth?! Aiming for the red, Higginson somehow cues across the white and hits the green, so Selbz-o sticks him on the baulk cushion with yellow, green and brown blocking the route to the red. He doesn't get near, and that's a foul, a miss, a free ball and a put back. Selby being Selby, he takes the latter option and Higginson misses again. Then, when he hits, Selby despatches the red, can't find a colour but comes back for the yellow, and that is that.
Selby 3-1 Higginson (56-55)
It will not! Selbz runs out of position, Higginson returns, it's all set up for him ... AND GOODNESS ME! He misses a straight red, and will all the colours but the black on their spots, whoever pots that final one will win the frame.
Selby 3-1 Higginson (56-39)
But then he decelerates through the white when seeking the black - "Looked easy, it was," says Neal. That will surely be curtains.
Selby 3-1 Higginson (48-39)
And it's Higginson, growing in confidence, who gets the better of it; do we got ourselves a ball-game! He opens with a nice red to the green pocket, and this looks a lot like 3-2.
Selby 3-1 Higginson (48-16)
Selby runs out of position and trying to play safe off the black seems to both miscue, brushing a red, and misses the black. That should be 14 away really. Anyhow, Higginson puts him back in and he fouls again, but there's no opportunity for yerman to get in the balls so a safety exchange ensues.
Selby 3-1 Higginson (39-0)
Selby gets in and doesn't look at all like missing as he accumulates a nifty lead. Even when he's straight on a black, he pulls the white back so that he can pot the next red and disturb a few more. Higginson is not like for this match.
Around the tables
Dott 2-4 Figueiredo (finished)
Liang 4-3 Hallworth (finished)
Akani 3-1 Brown
Carter 1-0 Hancorn
Hawkins 2-1 McManus
Sijun 2-0 Honghao
Selby 3-1 Higginson
Higginson's on the board! Selby tries his best to land the snooker but eventually leaves a long pink over the bottom left for Higginson, who strokes it in.
Selby 3-0 Higginson (46-65)
Higginson adds 41, but misses the green to its own pocket. With 25 left on Selby needs two snookers, which he can reduce to one if he can pot the remaining colours up to the pink and then play to get the white in behind the black. He duly clears said colours, but fails to land the snooker; it's safe though, and if Selby can manufacture a snooker he's got a chance of taking this to a re-spot.
Selby 3-0 Higginson (34-43)
A reprieve here for Higginson, as Selby rolls a red out off the knuckles of the right middle just as he looked set to close the match out. Safety play ensues, until Selby leaves Higginson a close range, thin cut on a red to the bottom left. Higginson plugs that, and gets to work. A pink takes him to 19 and he nudges two tied up reds next to it into potting positions as he does so.
Selby 3-0 Higginson (0-24)
Higginson could be forgiven for being in a funk about that missed green in the last frame, but he gets going in the fourth with a composed, deadweight long red into the bottom right. He's clearly decided he might as well go for it here, and affects a nice split on the pack off the black to leave a red to the right middle. Disaster strikes on his next colour though as he overcuts a blue to the right middle and misses; he's left Selby in here, with the match there for the taking.
Selby 3-0 Higginson
A poor safety from Selby leaves Higginson a straight yellow to the left middle. That disappears, only for Higginson to hopelessly miss the green - it doesn't even bother the jaws of its own pocket - and stick it up over the left middle for Selby. You can't be doing that, as Selby soon emphasises by clearing the remaining colours to take the third frame.
Selby 2-0 Higginson (48-42)
This is an excellent break from Higginson under pressure, as he adds 42 to get back into the frame. He's straight on his black to yellow shot though, and for some reason leaves himself a long pot rather than play a deep screw with reverse side to get the white closer. That's a curious shot selection, and he then misses the pot on the yellow but doesn't leave it.
Selby 2-0 Higginson (48-19)
On the cusp of a half century Selby jabs a pink at the bottom right while using the rest, but rattles it in the jaws. He's left Higginson in, who needs to compose himself here and get some meaningful points on the board. Higginson stitches 19 together, and now has to go to work and the final three reds, which are a little awkward.
Selby 2-0 Higginson (23-0)
This time, Higginson's error comes early, leaving Selby an easy starter, and he's quickly knocking balls in, confident enough to apologise for not accidentally potting a red when cannoning the pack off the blue. He then sinks the next red, a pink to the centre with dismissive ease, and the gap between these two is absolutely chasmic. Higginson has still potted just three balls and we've been going nearly an hour.
Selby 2-0 Higginson
The ref gets the ball back on the table and then nothing happens - I'm not sure why, we're not told.
Around the tables
Dott 2-3 Figueiredo
Liang 3-3 Hallwroth
Joyce 2-4 Dale (finished))
Akani 1-1 Brown
Carter 0-0 Hancorn
Hawkins 1-0 McManus
Sijun 1-0 Honghao
Selby 2-0 Higginson
A run of 93 clinches the frame for Selbz, who's looking exceedingly comfy out there. Higginson has so far accumulated a grand total of three points.
Selby 1-0 Higginson (37-1)
Who knew. Selby gets in next and quickly turns an opportunity to score into an opportunity to win the frame. Higginson is playing alright safety, but that's never going to be enough to beat someone this good.
Selby 1-0 Higginson (1-1)
Higginson will know that getting into scrappy ones with Selby is a losing game; he needs to pot better, as we all do. And he gets a starter, but taking on a tricky black to the middle, drops short and off line; "Apart from that it was alright," says Neal Foulds. Anyhow, Selby is next in but with pink and black on the side cushion, he has to go back to baulk - though he disturbs the former. It was looking like another brute, but now, if someone can pot one of the very spread reds, the black is available to the middle which will get it back on its spot.
Around the tables
Dott 2-2 Figueiredo
Liang 3-2 Hallwroth
Joyce 2-3 Dale
Junxu 0-4 Jones Jak (finished)
Akani 1-0 Brown
Hawkins 1-0 McManus
Sijun 0-0 Honghao
Selby 1-0 Higginson
Selbz clears up the remaining balls, no messing, to win this selbziest of frames. He's won his last 20 best of sevens in the home nations - that's a tremendous level of seriousness - and he's on the road in his 21st.
Selby 0-0 Higginson (46-2)
Selby has a little go, removing all the easy reds, then Higginson finds a starter but misses a pink to the middle by plenty. The remaining reds aren't easy, but Selby only needs a couple, so this is looking a lot like 1-0.
Selby 0-0 Higginson (5-0)
Higginson gets on the board but refuses a sharp cut on the black because if he misses, Selby is set. Except who wants to play attritional stuff with one of the best ever to do it?
Selby 0-0 Higginson (5-0)
They play safety, mainly from the top cushion, such that the majority of reds ate up in baulk and none at all beyond the pink spot. Selby has the lead following a foul and red, but otherwise there's not loads going on until Higginson misses a red. Selby can't take advantage though, and this is already looking like an absolute Selby of a frame.
Haway, off we go
Selby to break.
Selby on Higginson
He says Higginson's had a rough time, but if he's on he's good. He says he wasn't enjoying himself much a year ago, but then he started winning against and feels much better. Jimmy says he's much quicker in the balls, which is making a big difference.
Coming up next
Mark Selby v Andrew Higginson
Ding speaks
He says he felt good, and wants to make more centuries. Ronnie says he looked comfortable, and notes that he's playing more tournaments now; Ding says he doesn't want to qualify for the UK and big Chinese tournaments, and he's staying in England this year so doesn't have a travel problem. He's also getting a better standard of practice now, and can only laugh when asked how long it is since he's seen his family.
Around the tables
Dott 1-1 Figueiredo
Liang 1-2 Hallwroth
Joyce 0-3 Dale
Junxu 0-3 Jones Jak
Ding Junhui beats Eden Sharav 4-0
Ding finishes with a ton and Sharav, who had a mare, is still winless this season. Yerman plays lu Ning next.
Ding 3-0 Sharav (38-7)
The inevitable inevits, and Ding gets the next chance, which he snaffles with alacrity. He's never won a match in the Northern Ireland Open, a line no one will ever use again.
Ding 3-0 Sharav (8-7)
Yesterday, Luca Brecel noted that once he realised Kacper Filipovic wouldn't punish his errors, his own game dropped, and perhaps that's happening to Ding, who misses a red and finds himself in a struggle.
Ding 3-0 Sharav (8-7)
Sharav looks extremely morose after getting in and missing another straightforward black. The way the balls are spread, this could be it.
Around the tables
Dott 1-0 Figueiredo
Liang 1-2 Hallwroth
Joyce 0-2 Dale
Junxu 0-2 Jones Jak
Ding 3-0 Sharav
Poor old Eden. He keeps finding new and improved ways to ruin things for himself, and this is very nearly did.
Ding 2-0 Sharav (69-39)
And he gets it, and it's a beauty! He goes off the green, which is near the yellow pocket, taking the white off three cushions to finish tight behind the pink! Fantastic behaviour! Naturally, he then pots the blue for no reason whatsoever and that'll surely be the frame.
Ding 2-0 Sharav (61-33)
Hello! Ding misses the yellow that'll keep Sharav sat down and he returns to the table needing one snooker.
Ding 2-0 Sharav (35-33)
But Ding can't make it count, and Sharav sinks a confidence-boosting long red, then a blue and a red - that's a lovely shot, cannoning a red that brings the black into play; "A belter," says Uncle Joe in commentary. This is a great chance to get on the board now, but after pondering a tricky red for quite some time, he takes it on, misses, and Ding is soon rattling through the remainder of the frame.
Ding 2-0 Sharav (7-7)
Oh Eden! He misses the black! He's having an absolute shocker here, and Ding is now back involved.
Ding 2-0 Sharav (0-7)
Ding leaves Sharav an easy starter to the middle which he gobbles up, coming down the table off the blue and playing a gentle, clever next red that allows him to free up the black. This is a chance.
Around the tables
Dott 1-0 Figueiredo
Liang 1-1 Hallwroth
Joyce 0-0 Dale
Junxu 0-1 Jones Jak
Ding 2-0 Sharav
Ding looks in decent touch here, and wraps up frame two in short order. Sharav looks resigned to it, I'm afraid.
Ding 1-0 Sharav (41-1)
I can feel a whitewash coming on. Sharav leaves Ding a starter and he's quickly back in among the balls, taking his time to get down to the business end before nudging into the pack with promisiing results.
Ding 1-0 Sharav (11-1)
Ding leaves a red to top left and Sharav takes his time before seeing it away, but doesn't get through the shot properly, so the white rolls on, leaving a tricky black from close to the cushion ... which he misses, leaving it and a red. Ding drains both, but the positioning of reds under the cluster means he needs a really good shot to keep the break going, which he finds. But coming back down the table off the yellow, he flicks the blue, which means end of break.
Around the tables
Dott 0-0 Figueiredo
Liang 0-0 Hallwroth
Joyce 0-0 Dale
Junxu 0-0 Jones Jak
Ding 1-0 Sharav
Sharav says nah, saying in his seat.
Ding 0-0 Sharav (72-0)
This is really nice from Ding - the black was an is tied up and the pink only went into a couple of pockets when he started, but he's manufactured what looks like being a frame-winning contribution. Even when he underhits a pink, he finds a fine recovery, eventually running out of position on 72. I'd expect Sharav to return just to knock balls about, but this is over.
Ding 0-0 Sharav (14-0)
He's been having a hard time lately, but Ding is still so natural in the balls, fading in a lovely pink to the right middle.
Ding 0-0 Sharav (14-0)
For those interested, it's pronounced Eh-den ShaRAV. Generally, Hebrew words emphasise their second syllable, but Eden is an exception. Anyhow, he misses a red to left middle and that allows Ding in, who quickly gets to work.
Right, here we go.
On Eurosport
Ronnie is reliving this latest iteration of ludicrous genius from last evening. Meanwhile, Jimmy notes that you don't see Ronnie that kind of thing very often, because his positional play is so incredible. Mine too, James; mine too.
Sharav is 72 in the world
Ding is 10. His best is probably better than that of Maguire, who's above him, and maybe the current version of Higgins. But looking at the other names, it's hard to fear that things are getting away from him.
But I can't lie
I'd love to see Eden Sharav deal with this. I don't think I've ever watched someone Jewish play on a main table, and speaking as someone of that bent, I'm afraid I have a preference. But I still love Ding.
I love Ding
He might be the best player never to win the big pot, and it's getting to the point at which it looks like he never will. That's a huge shame, but he's still brilliant.
Breaking news
Declan Lavery, Neil Robertson's opponent, has had to pull out with corona. Instead, our main game will be Ding Junhui v Eden Sharav.
Afternoon all
We go again!
SCENE-SETTER
Champion of Champions winner Mark Allen meets Anthony Hamilton in his tournament opener on Tuesday evening as the Antrim man bids to claim his home tournament for the first time, while European Masters winner Mark Selby takes on Andrew Higginson.
Elsewhere, Neil Robertson, beaten by Allen in the final of the Champions of Champions, takes on amateur Declan Lavery, and 2016 winner Mark King faces off against world number 121 Zak Surety.
DAY ONE RECAP
World champion Ronnie O'Sullivan is on a collision course to face Judd Trump in the final for a third straight year, and 'The Rocket', seeded second for the tournament, got off to the perfect start when beating world No 82 Jamie O’Neill 4-1 on Monday evening.
The reigning world champion has lost the past two finals to Judd Trump in 2018 and 2019, but will be looking to go one better this week.
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'One of the shots of the day!' - Outrageous positioning from O'Sullivan
The second seed could face Trump, who beat Gerard Greene 4-1 in round one, again in the final, but his next task will be to see off either Elliot Slessor or Li Hang in the second round.
The Bristolian Trump had too much class for Greene, who is yet to register a win this season, producing runs of 105, 55 and 88 to progress.
Asked about possibly becoming the first player since Stephen Hendry in the 1990s to win the same tournament three times in a row, Trump told Andy Goldstein in the Eurosport studio:
No, I don’t really look at anything like that. I am happy just to be playing snooker at the moment, just trying to win as many games as possible.
Elsewhere, world number six Shaun Murphy was knocked out after Ryan Day put in a supreme performance to beat the 2005 world champion 4-0.
Mark Williams knocked in a 133 to round off his 4-2 win over Jamie Jones, while Kyren Wilson breezed past David Lilley 4-0.
Tuesday schedule - Northern Ireland Open
10am
- Barry Pinches v Liam Highfield
- Jamie Wilson v Nigel Bond
- Mark King v Zak Surety
- Zhao Xintong v Si Jiahui
- Lukas Kleckers v Chang Bingyu
- Stuart Carrington v Billy Joe Castle
- Tom Ford v Lee Walker
- Thepchaiya Un-Nooh v Peter Devlin
- Liang Wenbo v Steven Hallworth
- Graeme Dott v Igor Figueiredo
1pm
- Neil Robertson v Declan Lavery
- Pang Junxu v Jak Jones
- Mark Joyce v Dominic Dale
- Ding Junhui v Eden Sharav
- Barry Hawkins v Alan McManus
- Mark Selby v Andrew Higginson
- Ali Carter v Ben Hancorn
- Sunny Akani v Jordan Brown
- Yuan SiJun v Luo Honghao
- Zhao Jianbo v Brian Ochoiski
- James Cahill v Lyu Haotian
- Fergal O'Brien v Ashley Hugill
- Matthew Stevens v Jimmy Robertson
7pm
- Iulian Boiko v Michael White
- Ben Woollaston v Ricky Walden
- Stuart Bingham v Oliver Lines
- John Higgins v Daniel Wells
- Patrick Wallace v Farakh Ajaib
- Mark Allen v Anthony Hamilton
- Allan Taylor v Hossein Vafaei
- Joe Perry v Robbie Williams
- Elliot Slessor v Li Hang
HOW TO WATCH THE NORTHERN IRELAND OPEN – TV & LIVE STREAMING
The Northern Ireland Open is live on eurosport.co.uk and the Eurosport app.
Each day the eurosport.co.uk and the Eurosport app will stream uninterrupted bonus feeds.
We will also have rolling coverage online on the Eurosport.co.uk website and our social channels.
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