Snooker China Open: Williams out & Gilbert takes Chinese veteran's scalp in opening matches

Snooker's China Open 2026 has started on Saturday morning with two matches, where home favourites Ding Junhui and Zhou Yuelong faced British challengers in the forms of David Gilbert and Mark Williams.

Welshman Williams is of course the more notable name out of the duo, so it came as a surprise when Gilbert (ranking 32) showcased the better form against Ding, who's up in 15th in the world rankings.

The match was over before it even properly began. Ding's rise to stardom started at this event 21 years ago, when he defeated Stephen Hendry to put Chinese snooker on the map. However, after levelling the scores at 1-1, there was basically only one man on the felt

Wnglishman Gilbert took control from the 3rd frame, rising to take it after being 57-1 down. After that it was a showpiece performance, where the breaks just kept getting better with 67, 72, 110 and 113 scored.

The whole game therefore went 6-1 in favour of the "Angry Farmer", and home crowd favourite Ding will have to enjoy the rest of the China Open from the stands.

Chinese hopes for the opening matches therefore rested on Zhou Yuelong, but world rank #8 Williams is always a tough nut to crack. Zhou started strong, racing to a 4-1 lead.

The lead's guarantee was Zhou's strong break-building ability, as he performed three centuries in the opening five frames with 133, 115 and 134. The Welsh three-time World Champion rallied though, taking the next two frames with breaks of 93 and 97.

However, it was Zhou's day in China, as he closed out the next two frames to advance to the 2nd round with a 6-3 scoreline.

You can find all the results from the China Open below.













Source: TNT Sports