The first afternoon of the Ladbrokes Snooker Grand Prix saw 6 players battle it out to earn their place in the second round of the tournament.
First through to the second round was Joe Perry, with a dominant whitewash performance over Barry Hawkings beating him 4-0. Barry has never won a frame here in the Grand Prix. Joe Perry put in a stunning performance and closed out the match with an impressive century break of 133.
Elsewhere there was a massive upset as 2 vegans and 2 former world champions, Neil Robertson and Peter Ebdon, took to the Baize to battle it out. Both players started out scrappy sharing the first 4 frames 2-2. Ebdon then took the fifth frame moving 3-2 in front. The Ozzie then leveled up the match to bring it to the decider 3-3. Ebdon then took the 7th and final frame beating Robertson 4-3 with a cool break of 69.
Fresh from his win in the German masters, Martin Gould took to the the stage against Tian Pengfei. Gould got out of the traps quickly whitewashing his opponent 4-0.
Tonight all eyes will be on “the Rocket” Ronnie O’Sullivan as he takes on Michael Holt in the first round.