Murphy and O'Sullivan cruise into second round

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

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.”

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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.