Luca Brecel (WS-10) took on Joe Perry (WS-29) in the first round of the Shoot Out Snooker tournament in Leicester.
Brecel was the runner-up of the tournament in Leicester in 2016, but things quickly went wrong this year. Brecel lost 85-0 in the first round. Perry pocketed a 58 break.
Ben Mertens (WS-114) did take the first hurdle. He played the game smartly and took a 0-21 deficit against the Englishman Anthony Hamilton (WS-40) for a 34-21 win.
Moldovan Vladislav Gradinar, who turned 14 three months ago, wrote a piece of snooker history by becoming the youngest player to win a televised match in a ranking tournament.
The European U14 champion defeated Hong Kong’s Ng On Yee, three-time women’s world champion (2015, 2017, 2018) 40-1.
The Iranian Hossein Vafaei (WS-20) will not renew his title. He went 33-9 against Englishman Shaun Murphy (WS-11).
