John Higgins made the perfect start to the defence of his Evergrande China Championship title in Guangzhou with a demolition of Lyu Haotian. The Scot was in complete control as he cruised to a 5-0 win, requiring less than an hour as he posted impressive breaks of breaks of 72, 129, 63, 69 and 62 en route to victory against his teenage opponent. Higgins appears to be playing once again with plenty confidence and last season’s beaten World Championship finalist is 3/1 to win his second round match against Chris Wakelin 5-1 on Thursday. The Wizard of Wishaw claimed last year’s title in spectacular fashion, making three consecutive centuries from 7-7 to defeat Stuart Bingham 10-7 in the final.
The four-time world champion could scarcely have asked for a better start in the defence of his crown. There was also plenty for the home fans to cheers, as Chinese number one Ding Junhui overcame Niu Zhuang 5-1 in the opening round. After losing the first frame, Ding won five in a row making a break of 81 along the way to the delight of his passionate home supporters. Meanwhile 2005 World Champion Shaun Murphy had to rally to survive against 1997 Crucible king Ken Doherty.
The veteran Irishman reached the semi-final stage in Latvia last month and was on course for another scalp when he won three on the trot to lead Murphy 4-3. The Magician produced the goods however to land the final two frames and edge into the next round. Elsewhere on Thursday, Judd Trump will fancy his chances of getting past world number 61 Daniel Wells. The Welshman faces a stiff exam against the second-ranked player in the world, with Trump 17/4 to advance via a 5-0 whitewash.
China Championship odds available at Dafabet.