Mark J. Williams, the two time former world professional champion and second seed from Wales, had arrived as a pre-tournament favourite and he was going strong until last night.
Things changed this morning when he suffered a shock defeat at the hands of little know Scottish amateur Scott Mackenzie 5-3. To make amends, Williams made African qualifier Hassan Samir of Egypt suffer by handing a 5-1 defeat.
Williams still looks set to top the Group B standings, but another former world professional title-holder Ken Doherty of Ireland is now all likely to bow out at the end of the first round action on Wednesday night.
The man doing the damage again was MacKenzie who inflicted a 5-2 loss on Doherty, who has yet to win a match in his three outings in the tournament.
Peter Ebdon, also a former world professional champion from England, was shocked by talented Mohammed Mustafa Shehab of the United Arab Emirates, who won the encounter 5-1.
The home side also suffered a setback as they saw their star Ratchapol Pu-Ob-Orm suffered a stunning 5-3 loss to Hong Kong's Fung Kwok Wai. The result may not have a major impact on Ratchapol's chances of qualifying for the next round, but it is bound to dent his confidence a bit.
Issara Kachaiwong, the reigning Asian champion who was hammered 5-1 by Williams on Monday night, returned to his winning ways with a convincing 5-1 victory over Samir to stay in contention for a second place in Group B. Four players from each of the eight groups qualify for the last 32 round.
Thepchaiya Un-nooh, the 2008 world amateur champion, was also in a fine touch when he defeated Indian veteran Yasin Merchant 5-1.
Elsewhere, there wasn't much for the hosts to cherish about as Noppon Saengkham, Noppadon Noppachorn, Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon and Passakorn Suwannawat all lost their respective battles.
The remaining 40 matches of the first round will be played at the same venue, starting 10 am. Entrance is free.
RESULTS
Session One: Jamie Cope (ENG) bt Yu Delu (CHN) 5-4, Darren Morgan (WAL) bt Noppon Saengkham (THA) 5-3, Jimmy White (ENG) bt James Mifsud (AUS) 5-0, Jamie Jones (WAL) bt Habib Sabah (BAH) 5-1, Issara Kachaiwong (THA) bt Hassan Samir (EGY) 5-1, Alfie Burden (ENG) bt Joe Perry (ENG) 5-4, Michael Holt (ENG) bt Mohamed Khairy (EGY) 5-0, Scott MacKenzie (SCO) bt Mark J. Williams (WAL) 5-3
Session Two: Sam Craigie (ENG) bt Joe Swail (NIR) 5-2, Thepchaiya Un-nooh (THA) bt Yasin Merchant (IND) 5-1, Fung Kwok Wai (HKG) bt Ratchapol Pu-Ob-Orm (THA) 5-3, Glen Wilkinson (AUS) bt Igor Figueiredo (BRA) 5-3, Ricky Walden (ENG) bt Mohammad Sajjad (PAK) 5-4, Barry Hawkins (ENG) bt Liu Chuang (CHN) 5-0, Mohammed M. Shehab (UAE) bt Peter Ebdon (ENG) 5-1, Mark Davis (ENG) bt Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon (THA) 5-1
Session Three: Judd Trump (ENG) bt Noppadon Noppachorn (THA) 5-3, Sitthidead Sackbiang (LAO) bt Mifsud 5-3, William bt Hassan Samir (EGY) 5-1, MacKenzie bt Ken Doherty (IRE) 5-2, Dave Harold (ENG) bt Morgan 5-2, Issara bt Stuart Pettman (ENG) 5-2, Burden bt Passakorn Suwannawat (THA) 5-2, Nigel Bond (ENG) bt Manan Chandra (IND) 5-1 |
