Mark Selby cruises through first round at BetVictor English Open at Crawley

World number one Mark Selby took just 49 minutes to beat Sanderson Lam 4-0 in the first round of the BetVictor English Open in Crawley.
Mark SelbyMark Selby
Mark Selby

Selby is looking for his second title of the season, having won the China Championship last month, and looked in fine form against Lam as he knocked in breaks of 78, 106 and 79. He now meets Ben Woollaston on Wednesday.

“I only played one or two bad shots in the match so it was nearly faultless,” said Leicester’s 35-year-old Selby. “I made a good break to win the first frame then after that I played well.

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“Last season I won two big tournaments in China but lost early doors in the big BBC tournaments.

“This season I am working harder and hoping to change that in the BBC events.

“So to get a tournament win under my belt in China gives me the confidence to kick on for the rest of the season. I feel in good shape.”

Ronnie O’Sullivan began the defence of his title with a 4-1 victory over Kurt Maflin. O’Sullivan, playing in a ranking event for the first time this season, set up a second round match with Allan Taylor by knocking in breaks of 104, 70 and 82.

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Shaun Murphy top scored with 66 in a 4-1 win over Mike Dunn while World Champion Mark Williams eased to a 4-1 win over Dominic Dale, firing breaks of 116, 54 and 109.

Neil Robertson made breaks of 100 and 112 in a 4-2 win over Ross Muir.

China’s promising Luo Honghao came from 3-0 down to beat Adam Duffy 4-3 with a top break of 128. Ryan Day made a 141, the highest break of the tournament so far, in a 4-0 win over Ashley Hugill.