World number 13 Jack Lisowski earned a 6-3 lead over Thai number one Noppon Saengkham following the first session of their opening round encounter at the Cazoo World Championship.
Lisowski enjoyed his best ever run in the event last year, making the quarter-finals and coming agonisingly close to the single table set up. The Gloucestershire cueman beat Neil Robertson 13-12 in an epic last 16 tie, but bowed out by the same scoreline to John Higgins in the quarter-finals.
Saengkham came through qualifying by the barest of margins. He defeated China’s Zhang Anda 10-9 on the final black to earn his Crucible berth. The 30-year-old has enjoyed one of his best seasons on tour, making semi-finals at the British Open and the World Grand Prix.
This morning’s action was played out at a blistering pace, with only two frames lasting longer than 15 minutes. It was Lisowski who came out of the traps fastest, with a century run of 102 to take the opener.
World number 32 Saengkham made a break of 61 to restore parity, but further contributions of 50 and 78 from Lisowski saw him lead 3-1 at the mid-session interval.
When play got back underway, Saengkham clawed his way back into contention. They traded the first two frames, before a break of 72 from Saengkham saw him pull within one at 4-3.
Lisowski re-asserted his authority and took the last two of the session to end 6-3 ahead. They will return and play to a finish tomorrow morning at 10am.
On the other table, Gary Wilson moved 7-2 up on fellow Tyneside cueman and friend Elliot Slessor.
Wilson is competing in the final stages as a seed for the first time. However, he has enjoyed success at the Crucible before, having made the semi-finals back in 2019.
Scottish Open champion Wilson put on a tremendous display, firing in breaks of 61, 50, 62, 95, 92 and 131 to earn his hefty advantage.
The pair are back in action at 7pm this evening, where the match will be played to a finish.
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