World Grand Prix snooker: Mark Allen makes three centuries to beat Jack Lisowski and reach last 16, Ding Junhui advance

Mark Allen was in imperious form as he beat Jack Lisowski 4-2 to reach the last 16 of the World Grand Prix.

The Northern Irishman made three centuries in the best-of-seven encounter to begin the defence of his title in style at Leicester’s Morningside Arena.

“It would have been nice to finish with four [centuries] but I played well today and that’s what I’m taking away from it,” Allen told ITV.

“It shows you how silly this game is because I felt terrible out there. I didn’t sleep very well and my eyes were a bit fuzzy but they kept going in so maybe I should stay up all night more often.”

In a high-quality contest, Allen, who beat Judd Trump in last year’s final, raced into a 2-0 lead with breaks of 103 and 110 before Lisowski hit back.

Lisowski admitted before the match that he felt like he needed a pause from snooker but showed what he’s capable of with breaks of 93 and 75 to level.

At his fluent best, the Englishman is one of the sport’s most entertaining players, but he has yet to land a ranking title and has made just one semi-final appearance this season.

He could only watch on as Allen made his third century to move within one of victory at 3-2 and then gave his opponent a gilt-edged chance in the sixth frame when he potted the white off an attempted long red.

Allen took full advantage, clinching the win with a clinical 78. He will meet Zhang Anda in the next round.

Zhang shared the opening two frames in his encounter with Dominic Dale, before surging 3-1 clear with breaks of 75 and 81.

Dale responded with a 75 of his own to get back within one and had a chance to level before breaking down.

That allowed Zhang back to the table and he completed a 4-2 win with a 74.

Earlier in the session, Ding Junhui won the final two frames to beat Ricky Walden 4-3 to book his spot in the last 16.

The 36-year-old was forced to dig deep after Walden won three frames in a row to move within one of victory before he produced breaks of 70 and 72 to get over the line.

Ding made the perfect start in winning the opening two frames before a break of 55 reduced Walden’s arrears.

The Englishman then drew level when he clinched a scrappy fourth frame and moved 3-2 ahead with a break of 64. However, he couldn’t find a route to victory and cut a dejected figure leaving the arena.

When a thin cut on the black failed to drop, the Chinese player was fortunate not to leave his opponent even a half-chance, and he made the most of it with a clinical 72 to set up a meeting with Noppon Saengkham.

The Thai produced breaks of 81, 60, 70 and 81 in a clinical showing to wrap up a 4-1 victory over his Chinese opponent.

Xiao got on the board in the third frame to halve his deficit at 2-1 but couldn’t make the most of his chances as Noppon powered to a comfortable win.