Chinese pair waste no time

Chinese teenagers Ding Jun Hui and Liang Wen Bo were men in a hurry at the Travis Perkins UK Championship qualifiers in Prestatyn today.

Ding, the 18-year-old who won the China Open last April, thrashed Judd Trump 9-2 to reach the second round while his compatriot Liang, also 18, hammered Alfie Burden 9-1.

Despite winning his home title last season, beating Stephen Hendry 9-5 in the final, Ding was a wildcard in Beijing and so not eligible for ranking points and began the new campaign in 62nd place on the official list.

He lost his first match of the new season when Tom Ford beat him 5-3 in the Grand Prix but compiled breaks of 62, 91, 100 and 56 on the way to building a 7-1 first session lead against 16-year-old Trump. Only 45 minutes was needed to secre victory when they resumed.

Ding still needs to win two further matches to qualify for the final stages of the £500,000 event in York.

Liang, the reigning World Under-21 champion, fired in runs of 87, 53, 77, 85 and 52 to lead Burden 8-0. The Harrow professional averted the whitewash with an effort of 79 in the ninth frame but Liang took the next after a 65 to storm through.

Travis Perkins UK Championship, Pontin's, Prestatyn

1st Qualifying rd: Andrew Norman (Eng) bt Habib Subah (Bah) 9-4, Ding Jun Hui (Chn) bt Judd Trump (Eng) 9-2, Liang Wen Bo (Chn) bt Alfie Burden (Eng) 9-1, Leo Fernandez (Irl) bt Gary Wilson (Eng) 9-3