Mark Allen beats Aaron Hill to set-up third round clash against Xiao Guodong at the International Championship
Mark Allen reached the third round of the International Championship after a 6-2 victory against Aaron Hill in Nanjing, China.
Irishman Hill took the first frame with a break of 131 but Allen quickly responded with breaks of 66 and 67 to get in front.
That lead was wiped out at the mid-session interval as Hill took the fourth frame as a run of 58 did the damage for 2-2.
However, Allen put on the accelerator as breaks of 58, 67 and 103 put the Antrim man one frame away from victory.
Hill was in first in frame eight but broke down on 18 and world number three Allen clinched the win with a run of 75.
Allen will face Wuhan Open champion and home favourite Xiao Guodong in the next round.
Earlier in the day, Ronnie O’Sullivan eased into round three with a 6-2 victory over He Guoqiang, who beat the ‘Rocket’ at the recent English Open.
World champion Kyren Wilson sealed a 6-3 win over Liu Hongyu with a break of 143, while world number one Judd Trump also ended with a century in his 6-0 defeat of Sanderson Lam.
Stuart Bingham, the 2015 world champion, was whitewashed 6-0 by Thepchaiya Un-Nooh. Mark Williams awaits the Thai player following his walkover victory against Mark Davis.
Shaun Murphy also advanced with a walkover win, while defending champion Zhang Anda overcame David Grace 6-3.
China’s Ding Junhui recorded a 6-1 win against Martin O’Donnell, Neil Robertson didn’t lose a frame in his 6-0 win against Fan Zhengyi, with Jackson Page overcoming David Gilbert in a close 6-4 win.