Mark Allen got the defence of his International Championship title up and running in Daqing, China with a 6-1 victory over Peter Lines on Sunday.

In the qualifying-round encounter, Allen, who managed to beat the Australian Neil Robertson 10-5 in the final last year, made light work of his English opponent at the Baihu Media Broadcasting Centre.

It was actually Lines who made the brighter start as he came out on top 71-50 in the opening frame.

However, his time in front was short-lived as Northern Irishman Allen went on to win the next five frames, with his highest break of 81 coming in the second frame.

In two other qualifying matches, England’s Sam Craigie secured a 6-2 victory over home hope Pang Junxu of China, while Scotland’s Anthony McGill beat another Chinaman in the form of Zhao Jianbo, winning 6-3.

In the first round, Stuart Bingham, who is ranked 12 in the seeding for the competition, beat fellow Englishman Mark Joyce 6-1.

Bingham raced into a 3-0 lead thanks to breaks of 57 and 76 in the first and third frames respectively, before Joyce made a century break to win his only frame of the contest in the fourth.

Bingham responded superbly to record the highest break of the match in the fifth frame with an impressive 123.

The 43-year-old from Basildon wrapped things up in style in the final frame with a break of 105 to secure his place in the second round.