Wilson And Ding Storm Ahead

Kyren Wilson forged a 7-1 lead over Mark Allen in the first session of their Betfred World Championship last 16 clash.

Rising star Wilson is playing in the second round at the Crucible for the first time but the 24-year-old has certainly not been overawed, dominating the session against Allen to move within six frames of a place in the quarter-finals.

After taking a scrappy first frame by potting the final pink and black, Shanghai Masters champion Wilson went on to take another six in a row, firing breaks of 50, 55, 93 and 103. Northern Ireland’s Allen at least avoided the ignominy of a session whitewash by taking the eighth with runs of 48 and 35, but he needs to win 12 of the last 17 frames to progress.

On the other table, China’s Ding Junhui raced into a 6-2 lead over Judd Trump. The first four frames were shared, Trump compiling runs of 85 and 106 while Ding made a 71 in the third. Trump made 51 in the next but Ding recovered to take the frame to the colours and won it on the pink. He then knocked in breaks of 112 and 79 to extend his lead to 5-2.

Both players had chances in the last of the session and it came down to the colours. Ding, who has dropped out of the top 16 so had to win three matches to qualify, got the better of a safety exchange on the blue and cleared the table.

Both matches resume tonight at 7pm for eight more frames.