Mark Allen and Jimmy White push on for NI Open progress in Belfast

World number three Allen is going for a hat-trick of Northern Ireland Open crowns on home soil having claimed back-to-back titles at this venue in 2021 and 2022.

The 38-year-old was returning to action on the World Snooker Tour having missed the Wuhan Open earlier this month due to a family illness and explained on Eurosport before the match that his mother has been, and is still currently, not well.

Electing not to withdraw from his local event with his mother near by, it was largely plain sailing for Allen as he began his latest pursuit of The Alex Higgins Trophy.

Breaks of 71, 76 and 70 helped the 11-time ranking event winner dismiss his Chinese opponent inside an hour of playing time.

It was the second occasion that Allen had got the better of Liu on the professional circuit having defeated him in their only previous meeting at the Xi’an Grand Prix in China back in the summer.

Next up for Allen in the £550,400 tournament is either recent English Open runner-up Wu Yize or Oliver Lines, who play each other today.

Following Robbie McGuigan's failure to qualify for the main venue stages and Jordan Brown's elimination on Sunday, Allen is the last remaining cueist from the host nation.

Elsewhere during Monday's action in Belfast, Neil Robertson ousted Graeme Dott, 4-3 - in a rerun of their 2010 World Championship final - to keep his hopes alive of becoming the first player to win all four Home Nations Series titles.

Top 16 Chinese stars Si Jiahui and Zhang Anda both failed to negotiate their opening assignments and are out.

Recent Wuhan Open maximum break man and runner-up Si went down 4-2 to compatriot Tian Pengfei, while Zhang Anda was shaded 4-3 by Martin O'Donnell having forced a deciding frame from 3-0 down. In frame two, O'Donnell struck a break of 103.

Xiao Guodong - winner in Wuhan and professional snooker's newest ranking event champion - lost 4-2 to Jimmy Robertson.

World number 17 Tom Ford recorded a morale-boosting victory, and Elliot Slessor also progressed to the next round.

Earlier in the day, snooker legend Jimmy White dispatched Hossein Vafaei, 4-2, in an incident-packed and lengthy affair on the main TV table to reach round four in Belfast.

White - who won an invitational event in the Northern Irish capital in 1981 - had to win two matches last month in order to qualify for these main venue stages. The 62-year-old did not register a half-century break against a struggling Vafaei, but potted several impressive and pressure balls as he was roared on by local support. Next up for White is O’Donnell.

Barry Hawkins and Anthony McGill got the winning verdicts over Matthew Stevens and Stephen Maguire, respectively.

Oliver Lines - who had his qualifying fixtures held over due to his semi-final run at the British Open which clashed - strung together four frames in-a-row from 2-0 down to deny Ricky Walden, 4-2.

For full details on the 2024 Northern Ireland Open including the draw, results, prize money, schedule and how to watch visit National World’s Totally Snookered website.