Ding Junhui lost five frames in a row as he was beaten by Leo Fernandez in the first round of the UK Championship in York. Ding opened up a 5-1 lead but world number 130 Fernandez, who had not won a match this season previously, fought back to take the match to a decider and claim a shock win.
Ding is a two-time UK Championship winner but has struggled in the tournament in recent years and the world number three hasn’t reached a quarter-final since 2011. The 30-year-old’s exit opens up section eight of the draw and the likes of Anthony McGill and Tom Ford will fancy their chances of reaching the last eight as they will not have to come up against Ding in the early rounds. Irishman Fernandez will take on Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham, the world number 64, in the last 64 after his 6-2 win over China’s Zhang Anda.
English duo Robbie Williams and Martin O’Donnell are also in section eight of the draw and they face off in the late games on Wednesday. Williams is 4/6 to claim the win and O’Donnell can be backed at 23/20. Kyren Wilson opened his account with a dominant 6-1 victory over Sean O’Sullivan on Tuesday, while John Higgins, Marco Fu and Ryan Day also secured their places in the last 64.
UK Championship odds available at Dafabet.