Luca Brecel ended a two-month winless streak by beating Jiang Jun 4-3 in the first round of the BetVictor Welsh Open, and believes his game is gradually coming good.
So far this season, Brecel hasn't come close to scaling the heights he reached at the Crucible last Spring when he won the world title for the first time. He is yet to reach the quarter-finals of a ranking event this term, and before tonight the Belgian had not won a match since December 12th. But with the return to Sheffield on the horizon, the 28-year-old hopes he can regain his natural fluency.
There were signs of it tonight, particularly in the deciding frame when he rattled in a match-winning break of 93 to set up a last 64 encounter with Joe O'Connor.
"I felt good, I was positive," said Brecel. "Hopefully I can play better in the next round. My mind was clear in the whole game. Ever since I won the world title I have not experienced any pressure at all, even in a deciding frame. I feel totally relaxed, I am just a bit low on confidence, but I feel like my game is coming back. I am practising every day, just one or two hours, but that's a lot compared to zero! I am working on my diet and fitness as well, trying to get back into shape. There's a long way to go, but at least I have started. I am here to enjoy myself and hopefully find something."
Amateur Barry Pinches scored the biggest shock of the opening day, beating Shaun Murphy 4-3 in a dramatic finish, despite having needed a snooker on the final blue in the deciding frame.
Veteran Pinches, age 53, only discovered that he was playing in this tournament two days ago, when David Grace pulled out and he was handed an invitation. He didn't arrive in Llandudno until 3am on Monday morning, but the former world number 18 from Norwich took advantage by knocking out Murphy with his best win in recent years. Pinches goes through to the last 64 to face Daniel Wells.
World number six Murphy led three times, making breaks of 58, 128 and 88, but his experienced opponent recovered to level each time. Murphy was also 45-1 up in the decider, before Pinches clawed his way back into it. Former World Champion Murphy potted the yellow to lead by 27 points, and was later 20 ahead on the blue, but failed to escape from a tough snooker, then went in-off attempting safety. Pinches held his nerve to pot blue, pink and black.
The result means that Murphy will not be in the field for next week's Players Championship - a tournament he won last season - as he had needed to reach the final this week to climb into the top 16 of the one-year rankings.
Pinches said: "I thought it was all over, but managed to lay a good snooker, and then knocked in the last three balls. It was a great game, I enjoyed it and it's a fantastic win for me. I don't play all the time now, but I have been practising because I am just back from the WSF event in Albania. I am still in that group of 30 or 40 amateurs who are probably as good as the bottom pros. It's just really tough to get through Q School or earn a tour car because the players are a very high standard."
Pictures by @Zheng Zhai
Robert Milkins made a successful start to the defence of his title, edging a nervy 4-3 win over Jamie Jones, taking the last frame on the colours. "It felt different, being defending champion, but I tried to treat it like any other game," said Milkins. "Jamie probably played the better snooker and maybe just my safety made the difference in the end. It has brought back memories, coming back here. That's something that no one can ever take away from me."
Neil Robertson continued his return to form as he top scored with 103 in a 4-1 win over Jackson Page. "I have played a lot of matches, my confidence is building and I feel great, ready to win big tournaments again" said the Australian, who has been working on his diet and fitness to get into shape on and off the table. "It's not like I needed to lose two stone, it was just a couple of kilos, but that makes a massive difference around the table and I feel very good now. I cut out processed sugar like white bread. We travel a lot so it's easy to fall into the habit of snacking. I had five or six boxes to tick to get myself back on track, and I feel I have done that now."
Mark Allen came back from the brink of a 4-1 defeat to beat Cao Yupeng 4-3 and boost his hopes of a third title this season. Leading 3-1, Cao was on a break of 68 when he was unlucky not to land on a red when splitting the pack, and Allen cleared with 70 to gain momentum. The Northern Irishman then made a 101 for 3-3 and came from 52-0 down to take the decider, clearing from the last red.
Home favourite Mark Williams came from 2-1 down to beat John Astley 4-2 while Welsh amateur Alfie Davies - a late call up when Ronnie O'Sullivan pulled out - finished with a 103 as he beat Liam Graham 4-1. John Higgins top scored with 118 in a 4-0 whitewash of Mohamed Ibrahim.
Mark Selby earned a 4-2 success against Yuan Sijun, clinching victory at the end of a 69-minute sixth frame, resolved when Yuan was trapped in a tricky snooker on the final blue and failed to escape six times.