World Open 2024: Judd Trump and Luca Brecel march into main draw, Ali Carter and Hossein Vafaei reach third round

Judd Trump got his belated World Open title defence off to a strong start with a 5-2 win over Rory Thor, while world champion Luca Brecel made short work of Manasawin Phetmalaikul.

The tournament in Yushan, China, is being held for the first time since 2019 after taking a hiatus in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Top seed Trump looked set for a comfortable time at the table when he took the first couple of frames, but a superb 93 break from Thor got the Malaysian back into the match.

Trump responded with a majestic 130, the highest break of the contest, but was again pegged back as Thor reduced the gap before Trump pinched frame six off him, winning it on the black for a 4-2 lead.

The world No. 2, aiming for his fifth ranking title of the season in China, then cleared the table with a 108 final frame century to seal his place in round two against Sanderson Lam.

Elsewhere, Brecel moved into the second round with a thumping 5-1 win over Phetmalaikul.

The Belgian Bullet cruised through the second qualifying round, producing two century breaks in the opening first three frames as clearances of 131 and 100 helped him to a 3-0 lead.

His Thai opponent, ranked 117th, pulled a frame back with a 56 break, but Brecel regained control and finished off the contest with a 94 clearance in a strong start to his title bid.

Next up for Brecel, seeded second behind defending champion Judd Trump, is a second-round tie against Oliver Brown.

Masters runner-up Ali Carter moved through with a 5-3 win over Louis Heathcote to reach the third round.

The Englishman lost the opening two frames in an ominous start, with Heathcote producing an impressive 110 break in frame two, but Carter responded with a run of three in a row topped and tailed by 114 and 135 clearances.

Heathcote then levelled matters at 3-3, but Carter found an edge to pull away in the final two frames, finishing off with a break of 70.

He will face Chris Wakelin or Jordan Brown next for a place in the fourth round.

Hossein Vafaei also reached the third round, beating Scotland’s Graeme Dott 5-1 to set up a third-round clash with Robert Milkins.

Shaun Murphy came through a tough challenge to beat Xu Si 5-3, helped by breaks of 67, 54, 52 and 55.

Robbie Williams beat Tom Ford 5-4 to reach the third round, where he will face Jenson Kendrick or 14th seed Barry Hawkins.

Dominic Dale produced a superb comeback from 4-1 down to stun Lukas Kleckers 5-4, while David Lilley recovered from a 4-2 deficit to beat Stuart Carrington 5-4.

Joe Perry thrashed Sean O’Sullivan 5-1, while Long Zehuang won 5-2 against Si Jiahui in an all-Chinese affair.

The final qualifying round also saw Jordan Brown and Wang Xinbo progress against Lan Yuhao and Wang Xinzhong respectively.