UK Championship: Ronnie O’Sullivan praises ‘clinical’ Ding Junhui after dramatic win over Mark Allen in opener

The UK Championship got off to a blockbuster start at York Barbican, with a “clinical” Ding Junhui knocking out defending champion Mark Allen in the first round.

The opening match was a repeat of last year’s final, which Allen won 10-7 after storming back from a 6-1 deficit.

Ding avenged this loss, despite revealing after the match that he was feeling unwell and was had considered withdrawing from the match.

He secured a dramatic 6-5 result to give Allen his first ever opening match loss at the UK Championship.

Eurosport pundit Ronnie O’Sullivan, who starts his campaign at the UK Championship on November 28, praised Ding but admitted he was “fortunate” to win.

“If it’s not going well for him, he can look down and out,” O’Sullivan said. “But then if he starts to pot a few and gets involved in the game, he gets excited about playing again. So, it seems like he needs things to go his way for him to feel like he wants to win.

“But he’s such a talented player that he can get away with it. He’s quite fortunate to get through today. But when he did get his chance, he was clinical. One thing to say about Ding, he is probably the most clinical player out there.

“His positional play is so good. When you play like that, it’s very hard to play bad because this game is all about positioning.”

Allen made an assured start with a break of 67 in the opener to grab the early lead, but the contest quickly became a scrappy affair.

Allen let numerous chances slip in the second which allowed Ding to pinch it with a clearance of 50, before the Chinese player moved 2-1 ahead.

Allen again needed more than one chance in the fourth but got over the line to level the match at 2-2 at the break.

Ding got in first in the fifth but a mistake when he under hit the black presented Allen with a simple opener and he compiled the first century of the match and tournament to make it 3-2.

Normal service was resumed in the next, which featured a litany of foul points in favour of Ding. Despite that, Allen had the first chance to clinch it until a simple miss into the middle sparked a brief safety exchange.

A long red made Ding favourite but a loose positional shot and a scarcely believable miss on a red eventually handed the frame to his opponent.

Ding kept up the pressure, winning the next frame with a break of 79 after Allen missed the long yellow.

He then drew the encounter level with a victory in the eighth frame, before edging into the lead with a crucial 70 break.

Ding needed just one more frame to progress to the round of 16, but Allen ensured the encounter would go down to a decider with a break of 80.

The defending champion started the final frame well and looked to be on the cusp of victory, but missed a sitter of the red to give his opponent the advantage.

Ding finished the deciding frame in style, registering a 102 clearance and knocking Allen out of the tournament. He will meet Tom Ford in the last 16, who pulled off a dramatic comeback against Noppon Saengkham.

The Thai player got off to an excellent start in the match, taking a 5-1 lead as he compiled three centuries.

But Ford won four frames in a row to force a decider against Saengkham, subsequently booking a place in the next round with a break of 66.

Remarkably, world No. 60 Jamie Clarke managed a similar recovery against Kyren Wilson, a player 52 places higher in the rankings.

Wilson had also stormed ahead to a 5-1 lead at the start of the encounter, but Clarke won three frames in a row, before making a century – his second of the season – to send the match to a deciding frame.

Like Saengkham, Wilson was unable to prevent the comeback, and Clarke wrapped up the tie with a match-winning 76.

He will now take on Mark Williams, who defeated Fan Zhengyi in another scruffy encounter.

Big breaks were once again few and far between, but Williams used all his vast experience to stay ahead of his opponent.

Fan kept the match alive with a knock of 130 in the ninth frame, but Williams, leading 5-4, booked a place in next round with a break of 86.