China’s 14-time ranking event winner Ding Junhui whitewashed Ashley Hugill 4-0 in Barnsley to reach the final stages of the BetVictor Welsh Open.
World number 22 Ding is currently in the middle of a rankings slump which has seen him miss out on this week’s Cazoo Masters. However, a run to the final of the UK Championship before Christmas will have given him great confidence for the remainder of the season.
The legendary cueman claimed the Welsh Open title back in 2012, with a 9-6 defeat of Mark Selby in the final. He earned his place in Llandudno with breaks of 76 and 83 during this afternoon’s win.
Andy Hicks saw off three-time women’s World Champion Ng On Yee 4-2 in an entertaining encounter. A break of 69 gave Hong Kong’s On Yee the opener, before Hicks surged clear with three on the bounce to lead 3-1. On Yee kept herself in it with a run of 76 in the fifth, but Hicks denied her a decider by taking the next on the black to emerge victorious.
Amateur Ian Martin qualified with a 4-3 win over Estonia’s Andres Petrov, while Belgian teenager Ben Mertens whitewashed Barry Pinches 4-0.
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