Fan Ends Losing Streak
Fan Zhengyi scored a 4-0 victory over Ashley Hugill in the qualifying round of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open, ending a six-month streak without a win.
China’s Fan won the BetVictor European Masters in February this year with a shock 9-8 defeat of Ronnie O’Sullivan in the final, then lost his next five consecutive matches. So today’s result, highlighted by a break of 68 in the third frame, will come as a relief to the 21-year-old as he booked his place in the final stages in Belfast in October.
Si Jiahui, a quarter-finalist at last week’s BetVictor European Masters, scored a 4-3 success over Anton Kazakov. China’s Si knocked in breaks of 134, 66, 55 and 75.
Hossein Vafaei also top scored with 134 as he beat Mark Davis 4-0, while John Astley edged out Wu Yize 4-3. Andy Hicks top scored with 94 in a 4-1 win over Zhang Anda, while Craig Steadman came from 3-2 down to beat former World Champion Graeme Dott 4-3.
Runs of 52 and 95 helped Jordan Brown see off Andrew Pagett 4-0, and Dominic Dale beat Rebecca Kenna by the same scoreline.