Neil Robertson deals with jet lag to start English Open title defence in style

Robertson has recently been on the other side of the world in his homeland to receive the Medal of the Order of Australia. The 43-year-old attended a ceremony last week in Melbourne to proudly accept his accolade.

Akani - who had already won two matches to reach this round of 64 - claimed the opening frame of the contest with the help of a 58 break.

However, Robertson silenced his opponent over the next three frames - leaving him pointless - as he compiled breaks of 105, 136 and 89 in establishing a 3-1 lead.

The number one seed then sealed victory by taking a close frame five to progress to the last 32 where he will face Welsh youngster Jackson Page who also advanced in the evening session.

Winner of The Steve Davis Trophy on two occasions - in 2021 and 2024 - Robertson is going for a record third English Open crown. Mark Selby and Judd Trump have also won this Home Nations Series title twice.

Robertson was appearing on the professional circuit for the first time since his title triumph at the Saudi Arabia Masters in Jeddah a month ago. The Australian - who has recently talked about the rigours of international travel - subsequently withdrew from the Wuhan Open which took place towards the end of August.

Trump and Zhao also impress during opening wins in Essex

Tuesday proved to be a very good day for the sport’s top stars as both world number one Trump and reigning World Champion Zhao Xintong both recorded whitewash wins, and made multiple century breaks in the process.

English Open champion in 2020 and 2023, Trump recorded runs of 107 and 130 in his 4-0 sweep of Michael Holt.

Zhao was playing his first professional match on UK soil since his historic Crucible success in May, and the Chinese cueist made a statement as he produced efforts of 105, 134 and 110 en route to a 4-0 victory against a semi-finalist here last year, Ishpreet Singh Chadha.

Next up for Zhao, in the last 32 on Wednesday, is a tasty tie with Jack Lisowski, who wrapped up a 4-2 win over Thepchaiya Un-Nooh with a break of 128.

Stuart Bingham is local to this tournament, but the former World Champion had lost all three of his previous matches at this Brentwood Centre venue. However, Bingham - winner of this title in 2018 - ended that unwanted streak as he put on a brilliant display with breaks of 116, 86, 103 and 61 in defeating Dylan Emery, 4-0.

Bingham is due to meet Mark Allen in the next round; the former world number saw off Scott Donaldson, 4-1.

Xiao Guodong is a player in seriously great form having won the last ranking event on the World Snooker Tour when he successfully defended the Wuhan Open title only a few weeks ago.

Now up to a career-high eighth in the world rankings, Xiao extended his winning streak on the circuit to eight matches with a 4-0 success against Chinese compatriot Gong Chenzhi. During the opening frame, Xiao crafted a 105 - rattling the 14th black on a maximum 147 attempt.

In fact, Xiao is going for three competition wins in-a-row; he struck gold for his country on home soil in the men’s snooker event at the 2025 World Games held in Chengdu last month.

All five Chinese members of the world's top 16 are through to the round of 32 - Zhang Anda joined Zhao, Xiao, Ding Junhui and Si Jiahui after a 4-1 win against Anthony McGill.

Zhang reached his maiden ranking event final here two years ago, and he has huge chunks of prize money to defend from his ranking total this season.

Gary Wilson was back in action for the first time since narrowly missing out on the Wuhan accolade to Xiao in a deciding frame. Three-times a Home Nations Series event winner, Wilson recovered from 1-0 and 2-1 deficits as he eliminated Sanderson Lam, 4-2.

Ricky Walden, Yuan Sijun, Elliot Slessor, Jak Jones and Ali Carter were also victors on Tuesday. The final winner of the day was Ireland’s number one Aaron Hill - who fashioned a 147 in the previous round - as he ended the campaign of Stephen Maguire with a 4-2 result.

The entire round of 32 will be played and completed during Wednesday’s schedule. 27 of the top 32 seeds have made it through to round four.

Visit our 2025 English Open tournament information centre here for the draw, results, and details on the format, schedule, prize money, and how to watch.