Mark Allen came out tops in his match-up against James Cahill to seal his place in the next round stage of the World Open qualifiers.

Allen won a number of tight frames and added a century break of 106 as he saw off competition from his English opponent. The 2012 and 2013 Champion could face Ken Doherty in the last 64.

At the close of the World Open qualifying at the Metrodome in Barnsley, last year’s runner-up David Gilbert also made way to the last 64.

David Gilbert was only inches away from a maiden ranking success in the 2018 edition, leading then defending world champion Mark Williams 9-5 before falling to the sword of the Welshman who staged a remarkable comeback.

It was a fairy tale run for China’s competitors, with most of them making the cut. However, it was a close affair for Xiao Guodong, with the former Shanghai Masters finalist thumping Gerard Greene in their final frame shoot out.

Lyu Haotian strolled past Alexander Ursenbacher 5-1 despite accumulating a high break of just 52. The pair of Zhou Yuelong and Luo Honghao failed to score much heavier but managed to take out their opponents in Ashley Carty and Andrew Higginson with 5-2 wins.

Elsewhere, Ben Woollaston and Alfie Burden emerged Kings of the cueball, securing their ticket to the first round proper with 5-3 victories over Louis Heathcote and Chris Wakelin, respectively.

The duo of Robbie Williams and Harvey Chandler also progressed to the next round unscathed.

However, the highlight of the week was Shaun Murphy’s triumph in the China Championship on Sunday. Murphy was back in action only a few days after a vital 10-9 win over Mark Williams in Guangzhou.

The former world champion was looking to make a return to China as he battled veteran Rod Lawler in Barnsley for a chance to take part in the venue stages of this term’s World Open.

Though Shaun Murphy wasn’t at his free-scoring best, he could still shove aside his rival, emerging 5-1 winner of the tie and ultimately booking his spot in the last 64.

Written by: Roland Arum