World Snooker Championship 2024: Jack Lisowski and Kyren Wilson advance to round two

Kyren Wilson and Jack Lisowski won matches in very contrasting circumstances on Wednesday morning at the Crucible Theatre as they both advanced to the last 16 of the 2024 World Snooker Championship.

Former finalist Wilson wrapped up a resounding 10-1 win over Dominic Dale, the biggest margin of victory for any player in this year’s event, so far.

The damage was done in the first session 24 hours earlier when Wilson registered breaks of 52, 75, 123, 96, 50, 77 and 73 in establishing a commanding 8-1 lead. Dale, at 52-years-old the oldest player in the main draw since 2010, made a 120 in the frame (4) he won.

On resumption, world number 12 Wilson completed the job with the minimal of fuss as efforts of 65 and 88 (maximum attempt) helped him get over the line. Arguably the most impressive display of any player in the tournament so far, Wilson issues a statement of intent to the field heading into a last 16 tie with debutant Joe O’Connor, the conqueror of Mark Selby in round one.

Wilson has endured a largely frustrating season, but there have been signs of improvement in recent months with a semi-final run at the German Masters and a last eight finish at the World Open.

On the other table, one of the star fixtures of the opening round lived up to expectations and beyond as Lisowski ousted number seven seed Ding Junhui 10-9.

With a high-quality standard throughout, eight breaks of 60 or above were made between the two in the opening session (Ding: 127, 60, 98, 90 | Lisowski: 71, 91, 69, 67), and it was 32-year-old Lisowski who took the final two frames to lead for the first time and overnight at 5-4.

At the start of the concluding session, Ding made an effort of 74 as he levelled, but Lisowski went two clear for the first time at 7-5 having been aided by runs of 52 and 63.

Three-time UK Championship winner Ding made it 7-6 (84 break) and later responded again to go one behind at 8-7 (59 break), although Lisowski reached the hill first at 9-7 having crafted a contribution of 72.

Lisowski had a chance to win the tie in frame 17 but missed a blue whilst on a break, allowing Ding (56 break) to keep his hopes alive. The 37-year-old Chinese superstar showed his mettle again in the next frame with a fantastic 131 to force a deserving decider.

However, instigated by brilliant pots from distance, ‘Jackpot’ Lisowski constructed efforts of 38 and 46 under pressure to record his first win over Ding in professional competition.

The result meant there had been three deciding frame finishes in the space of 24 hours at the Crucible.

Similar to Wilson, Lisowski has had a disappointing campaign having fallen outside of the world’s elite top 16 and needed to qualify for the Crucible for the first time since 2018. The world number 17 - the highest possible ranked qualifier in this year’s main draw - will face former world champion Stuart Bingham in round two, another classy cueist who had to navigate qualifying.

Ding’s ambition of becoming the first Chinese or Asian world champion will have to wait for another year. This was his fourth consecutive first round exit.