Mark Allen kicked off his Northern Ireland Open defence in style last night as he fired his way into the second round with a convincing 4-1 win over Chang Bingyu at Belfast’s Waterfront Hall.
The world No.10, who beat John Higgins 9-8 in last year’s famous final, hit breaks of 123, 56, 70 and 108.
And he will face another Chinese cueman in Chen Zifan today.
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“I was nervous in that first frame,” admitted Allen. “I felt fine all day and then when I got out there I was pretty edgy.
“It’s the first time I’ve set foot in the arena since I won it. Once I settled down I played some good stuff.”
Meanwhile, Reanne Evans - an ex-girlfriend of Allen - was left “gutted” after missing a great chance to take the scalp of Mark Selby.
The 12-times women’s world champion lost 4-2 to the world No.4.
But Dudley’s Evans, 36, had the four-time world champion in real trouble having roared back to 2-2 – and got snookers to be on the brink of taking a 3-2 lead before a bad mistake on the final green.
Judd Trump channelled his inner Alex ‘Hurricane’ Higgins in Belfast as he cruised into round two with a 4-1 win against Rod Lawler.
After setting up a clash with Ireland’s Aaron Hill, Trump said: “I always get great support here. Maybe it is something to do with my style of play being like Alex Higgins.”
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