Ali Carter compiles wonderful 147 but bows out of English Open
It was a bittersweet night for Carter in Brentwood (Sportimage Ltd/Alamy Live News)
Ali Carter hit the 10th maximum break of the season on Wednesday, though it proved academic as he bowed out of the English Open in Brentwood.
The Captain compiled a nerveless 147 in the fourth frame of his match against Aaron Hill who, ironically, also achieved perfection at the Brentwood Centre earlier this week.
Both players will share the £5,000 high break prize on offer, unless another is made at the first Home Nations event of the season.
It was the fourth maximum of Carter’s career, and his first since the 2021 British Open quarter-finals.
That put the two-time World finalist, who opened with a break of 118, 3-1 to the good, though it ultimately proved a false dawn as his opponent recovered to prevail in a deciding frame.
Reigning champion Neil Robertson was dethroned after a 4-1 defeat by Jackson Page, with the same scoreline seeing Mark Williams bow out at the hands of former Northern Ireland Open finalist Zhou Yuelong.
World number one Judd Trump endured no such problems, recovering from losing the opening frame to beat Yuan Sijun 4-1. Next up for the two-time champion will be Elliot Slessor, who whitewashed Gary Wilson 4-0 in the battle of the North East.
Like Trump, Shaun Murphy also won four straight frames from 1-0 down, with a top break of 140 helping seal a 4-1 victory over Fan Zhengyi, while a contribution of 119 was the highlight of Mark Selby’s 4-0 rout of Lei Peifan.
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