Antrim’s Jordan Brown caused a major upset on the opening day of the Northern Ireland Open with a 4-0 win over world champion Zhao Xintong.
The 38-year-old had endured a poor run of results in recent seasons, but put that behind him as he took advantage of an off-colour Zhao to secure a last-32 meeting with Ashley Hugill.
Brown edged a scrappy opening frame and won the second on the colours, while breaks of 48 and 51 were enough to see him win the frames he needed to advance.
“It was fantastic out there, I absolutely loved it and I want to thank everyone for their support. This is a special place to play,” said Brown.
“I haven’t given them much to shout about recently. I beat Neil Robertson here two years ago and I had to try to bring back those memories today and produce something similar. When you play Zhao you have to go for your shots. I kept him cold, especially in the first couple of frames.
“It has been very difficult over the last couple of seasons. It’s just confidence, I am a confidence player and when that goes, everything goes. I have been working with Fergal O’Brien on the mental side and trying to get things right again. If I play like that again there’s no reason why I can’t go further.”
Hugill also caused a stir as the amateur got the better of world number 35 Noppon Saengkham, winning 4-2.
Mark Selby began his challenge with a a 4-1 win over Ian Burns, which included a 129 break in the second frame.
Chris Wakelin, runner-up in 2023, saw off Lan Yuhao 4-1, while there were wins for China’s Wu Yize, Ben Woollaston and Pang Junxu in the afternoon session.
In the evening session, four-time world champion John Higgins advanced with a 4-0 win against Louis Heathcote, producing breaks of 95 and 84 along the way.
China’s He Guoqiang was a 4-2 winner over David Gilbert with a break of 99 in the first frame and 84 in the last, while last year’s runner-up Judd Trump was a 4-2 winner against Anthony McGill.
Jackson Page powered to a 4-0 win against Stephen Hallworth and England’s Jack Lisowski produced a break of 112 on his way to a 4-0 win against Haris Tahir.
