Murphy and O'Sullivan cruise into second round

Ronnie OSullivan in action at Prestons Guild Hall (Photo: Michael Ellison)

Shaun Murphy defeated Michael Holt 4-1 at the Guild Hall in Preston yesterday in an impressive start of the defence of his Ladbrokes World Grand Prix.

Murphy turned on the heat to pull away from the Hitman, consecutive breaks of 73, 60 and 73 saw him charge to a 4-1 victory.

Murphy said: “The Guild Hall is synonymous with the game, it is a great venue for snooker.”

Ryan Day ended world number two Stuart Bingham’s Guild Hall campaign with an impressive 4-2 victory. Ronnie O’Sullivan is also through the second round after seeing of the challenge from rising star Yan Bingtao from China who is just 16. The teenager managed to claim a couple of frames but lost 4-2 to O’Sullivan.

And there was late drama when the match between Ali Carter and another Chinese teenager, Zhou Yuelong, went the distance. Carter won the decider to take the match 4-3 against the 19-year-old.

The other matches: Mark King (Eng) bt Stephen Maguire (Sco) 4-3; Joe Perry (Eng) bt Mark Williams (Wal) 4-2; Anthony McGill (Sco) bt David Gilbert (Eng) 4-1; Marco Fu (Hkg) bt Jamie Jones (Wal) 4-2.