Snooker news - Selby kicks off China Championship defence with routine win

Updated 24/09/2019 at 14:08 GMT

Defending champion Mark Selby got his China Championship campaign started with a routine victory over home hope Lu Ning, claiming a 5-2 win to set up a second-round clash with Martin Gould.

Mark Selby of England

Image credit: Getty Images

The Jester from Leicester put together runs of 96, 121, 121 and 53 to seal progression to round two.

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The first frame was a tight affair, which Selby won by a narrow 63 points to 62, despite a break of 59 from Lu, and the 36-year-old soon consolidated his advantage, producing runs of 96 and 121 to move into a 3-0 lead.

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Lu refused to be beaten however, and a 78 break helped him get on the board but Selby then turned on the style winning the fifth courtesy of a second break of 121.

Mark Selby takes control of Lu Ning encounter with century break

Lu won a further frame – with a 68 - but it was merely prolonging the inevitable and Selby booked a second-round tie with Gould, who overcame Scott Donaldson 5-3.

Elsewhere, Mark Allen survived a scare against Anthony Hamilton, after trailing by three frames to one, Allen produced a 145 break, the highest of the tournament so far, and with his eye truly, in, he rattled off four straight frames to stave off an upset.

There were no such problems for Neil Robertson, who eased past 16-year-old amateur Zhao Jianbo 5-1 but in form Hossein Vafaei upset Tom Ford 5-1.

In the afternoon matches, Judd Trump whitewashed Mike Dunn to set up a second-round encounter with Zhou Yuelongwho beat Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 5-1.

'Tremendous' clearance sees Trump open three-frame lead over Dunn

Trump, who compiled his 16th century of a nascent season in the third frame, put together runs of 122, 51 and 63 to seal progression in a tournament he made the quarter-final stage of last year.

Elsewhere, Kyren Wilson made ran out 5-0 winner against Robbie Williams in a stellar showing that included breaks of 81, 101, 116 and 53.