Day 2 at the International Championship

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After the first day of thrills and spills at this tournament, we can see how fragile and unpredictable a match can be. John Higgins and Ding Junhui both had shaky starts yesterday and could have easily have been boarding a plane today but as I said before, experience saved them from the jaws of defeat. So let’s fast forward to today and Mark Allen drew Sam Craigie. This match was a pretty one sided affair and Allen is obviously in the zone as he wants to retain the title. Craigie looked out of his depth in this match and the television table probably didn’t help his cause as on the day he was a bit like a fish out of water. Allen proved his class and before you know it the score line was 5-1 to Allen. However on the day, Allen had the upper hand and left the table with a comfortable 6-1 win and The highest break of the tournament so far, 141.

Elsewhere Jak Jones was put up against Mark Williams and this match was full of complications for Mark with Jak now starting to show signs of his true potential. Before long Williams was in the danger zone and his Welsh opponent had racked up a 3-2 lead. Jones then piled on the pressure and pain to Williams, sealing the next frame with a 118 break. In the next, Jones was flying but broke down at 49 but after he was let back in he left Mark with lots to think about before the next after he piled another frame in the winning corner, making it 5-2. A missed black in the next by Williams cost  Mark the frame and match. Jack played very well in this matched and wasn’t phased by his opponent. Williams was definitely not playing his A game and was very weak when in the balls and on long potting. Final score, 6-2 Jones. So the first casualty of the top 16 is made.

In the evening session, Judd Trump was up against Zhang Anda and posed a threat to the World Champion with Zhang already having had two previous victories against Judd. After a bout of safety in the closing stages of the first, Judd potted an excellent long pink and made it 1-0. Anda came back in the second frame and squared it up to make it 1-1. An uneventful third frame saw Trump make a break of 55 and after a lengthy safety battle made it 2-1 after Zhang conceded the frame.

With the reds in open play in the fourth, Judd cleared the table and left Anda staring in space as he equaled Allen’s highest break of 141. With Trump not at his best but his opponent not putting him under pressure, Judd nailed the fifth with a 46 break. Trump motored  on in the next with the match looking hopeless for Zhang. A mistake on a snooker let Trump take on and pot a long red which ultimately clinched the frame, 5-1. Trump was livid in the next as he missed match ball on a break of 68 and Anda stole the frame with a 70 clearance to make it 5-2. However in the end Judd stamped his mark on this match as he had done his previous and sealed the duel with a 6-2 win and a 102 break.

Day 2 Results

Zhao Xintong v Ding Junhui 4-6
Kyren Wilson v Robbie Williams 6-2
John Higgins v David Grace 5-3
Luca Brecel v Sunny Akani 6-3


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