Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Allen sees off Joyce in Cardiff
MARK ALLEN produced a battling comeback to keep his Welsh Open title dreams alive last night.
Northern Ireland’s top potter rallied from 2-1 down to clinch a battling 4-2 win over England’s Mark Joyce at Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena.
And with victory the Antrim ace set up a second round showdown with either England’s Michael Holt or China’s Mei Xi Wen tomorrow.
Allen won the opening frame with a 54 break but Joyce levelled and moved ahead with an 81 run.
But Allen dug deep and won the next three frames to enhance his chances of pocketing the £70,000 first prize.
Dubliner Ken Doherty cruised into the second round with a 4-1 victory over Sean O’sullivan. The 1997 world champion compiled breaks of 52, 68, 59 and 43 to deservedly progress and earn a clash with Englishman Sam Craigie next.
World champion Mark Williams delighted the home fans with a battling 4-3 win over Kishan Hirani.
“I could easily have lost that,” Williams said. “I’m happy to get through but I’ve got to play a lot better.”
Defending champion John Higgins whitewashed compatriot Graeme Dott
4-0 to start his title defence in style.
Former world champion Shaun Murphy beat Adam Stefanow 4-1 while Peter Ebdon lost 4-0 to
Germany’s Lukas Kleckers.
Belfast’s Joe Swail kicks off his tournament today against Chinese potter Li Hang, while compatriot Jordan Brown faces a tough first round clash with former world champion Neil Robertson.