Allen opens Norther Ireland Open defence with dominant win

Allen, bidding for a hat-trick of successive titles in Belfast, hit two half-century breaks against Belgium's Ben Mertens

Sun, 22 Oct, 2023 - 22:11

Staff

Home favourite Mark Allen opened the defence of his Northern Ireland Open title with a 4-0 win over Belgium's Ben Mertens in Belfast.

Allen, bidding for a hat-trick of successive titles in his home country, hit two half-century breaks as he coasted into the second round, where he will play Estonia's Andres Petrov.

In Sunday's earlier matches at Waterfront Hall, Australian Neil Robertson - who is set to take a break from tournaments in December to spend some time back home - beat China's Wu Yize 4-1.

English Open and Wuhan Open champion Judd Trump started strongly in his bid to land a third straight ranking title with a 4-1 defeat of Jenson Kendrick, while Antrim amateur Robbie McGuigan made three half-century breaks in his 4-1 win over Muhammad Asif.

Jack Lisowski had a highest break of 112 in a 4-1 victory over Rebecca Kenna, while British Open champion Mark Williams made a 140 clearance as he beat Tian Pengfei by the same score.

World number eight Kyren Wilson was edged out 4-3 by Sam Craigie and Robert Milkins also lost in a last-frame decider against Cao Yupeng, as did Welshman Ryan Day against Ma Hailong.