The Hangzhou Snooker Superstar Invitational officially kicked off, with two matches on the first day that were full of excitement, featuring "75" trio and Ding Junhui. Mark Williams faced off against John Higgins, while Ronnie O'Sullivan took on Ding Junhui.
Yesterday's match between "75 trio" members Williams and Higgins was their 62nd career encounter, making them lifelong rivals, with Higgins currently leading 37 wins to 24. Higgins started strong with a century break to take the lead. Over the next four frames, they traded blows, each making a break of over 80, bringing the score to 3-2 in favor of Higgins.
In the sixth frame, Williams had a good chance at a 147 maximum break but unfortunately missed the ninth black ball, losing out on the 147,000 RMB prize. The score then leveled at 3-3. In the final two frames, Higgins secured victory with two breaks over 70, ending the match with a 5-3 scoreline. Both players will compete in another match later.
The match between O'Sullivan and Ding Junhui, which began at 19:30, was highly anticipated by many fans, hoping for an intense and exciting game. However, just like in the recent Saudi Gold Cup, O'Sullivan defeated Ding Junhui 5-1 in less than an hour. It seems that every time O'Sullivan plays against Ding Junhui, he gets particularly fired up!
Throughout the match, both players played at a fast pace, with O'Sullivan making a century break in under six minutes and Ding Junhui making a break of over 70 in just over three minutes. However, O'Sullivan's form from the previous two days' Macau Masters, where he won all five matches in the round-robin, continued successfully. He hardly gave Ding Junhui any opportunities. Ding Junhui has lost his last three matches, 0-4 to O'Sullivan in the Saudi Gold Cup, 1-5 to Trump in the Macau Masters, and yesterday's 1-5 defeat to O'Sullivan again. With this year's Masters tournament approaching, Ding Junhui needs to make some adjustments.
Today, there are two more exciting matches. At 14:00, "The Accurate God" Judd Trump will face off against "The Berserker" Lyu Haotian, both known for their decisive and entertaining style of play. At 19:30, it's the turn of "75 trio" members O'Sullivan and Higgins to showcase their skills in what promises to be a thrilling encounter. Don't miss these matches, snooker fans!