Wuhan Open snooker: Judd Trump begins title bid with dominant victory, Shaun Murphy suffers shock exit, Graeme Dott win
Judd Trump eased through the qualifying round of the Wuhan Open with a dominant 5-1 victory over Lukas Kleckers in Leicester on Monday.
The Masters champion produced breaks of 87, 57, 82 and 79 at the Morningside Arena to secure his trip to China next month when the last-64 stage begins.
But Shaun Murphy won’t be making the journey for the event after losing 5-2 to 18-year-old Belgian talent Ben Mertens in the evening session.
The Players and Tour Championship winner levelled at 2-2 from 2-0 behind with a break of 82 in the third frame after his opponent had opened with 117.
World No. 72 Mertens resumed in style after the interval as further breaks of 57, 70 and 65 saw him complete an upset win.
2006 world champion Graeme Dott completed a 5-3 win over Julien Leclercq that saw the Scotsman win the final three frames from 3-2 behind.
Elsewhere, World Championship quarter-finalist Jak Jones enjoyed a 5-2 victory against Mostafa Dorgham that included a 100 break in the fourth frame.
Daniel Wells ran out a 5-1 winner against fellow Welshman and two-time world finalist Matthew Stevens.
Wells finished with breaks of 58, 72 and 55 with Stevens contributing 52, 75 and 56.
China is also hosting the Shanghai Masters, International Championship and World Open this season.
Wuhan Open qualifying latest results
- Judd Trump 5-1 Lukas Kleckers
- Graeme Dott 5-3 Julien Leclercq
- Daniel Wells 5-1 Matthew Stevens
- Jak Jones 5-2 Mostafa Dorgham
- Jamie Clarke 5-0 Mohamed Ibrahim
- Lyu Haotian 5-2 Muhammad Asif
- Mark Joyce 5-1 Victor Sarkis
- Ben Mertens 5-2 Shaun Murphy
- Rod Lawler 5-4 Jimmy Robertson
- Xiao Guodong 5-0 Alexander Ursenbacher
- Dominic Dale 5-0 Rebecca Kenna
- Stephen Maguire 5-2 Manasawin Phetmalaikul
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