Jack Lisowski denies Ding Junhui in Crucible decider as Wilson, Allen and Day also reach Last 16

Jack Lisowski clinched a thrilling 10-9 win over Ding Junhui to book his place in the Second Round of the World Snooker Championship on Wednesday.

Lisowski held his nerve in a tense climax to subject Ding to a fourth consecutive First Round exit at The Crucible and reach Round Two himself for the fourth successive year.

Lisowski, who had to win two qualifying matches to reach the main event, carried a narrow 5-4 lead into the second session and extended that advantage to 9-7 with breaks of 52, 63 and 72 along the way.

Ding, though, hit back with successive breaks of 56 and 131 to force a decider, but Lisowski held firm to seal it by 84 points to nil and set up a Last 16 meeting with Stuart Bingham.

“I always thought it was going to be a really close game, everyone was saying it would be,” Lisowski told BBC Sport.

“My game is in really good shape and when you’re confident in your cueing you’ve always got a chance.

“I just wanted a chance in the last frame and everything went in the middle of the pocket. It’s probably one of my best wins ever.”

Meanwhile, Kyren Wilson romped into the Last 16 after securing the two frames he needed to seal a thumping 10-1 win over the returning Dominic Dale.

Wilson had effectively done the damage in Tuesday’s first session by establishing an 8-1 lead despite a century from Dale, and he added a break of 65 to continue the procession on Wednesday morning.

Having made a memorable maximum 12 in Sheffield 12 months ago, Wilson threatened to repeat the feat in frame 12 but saw his effort end at 88, nonetheless sealing an emphatic win.

Fourth seed Mark Allen withstood a late rally from Robbie Williams to close out a 10-6 victory.

Allen had raced into a 7-2 lead following their first session, but it was Williams who started brightly on Wednesday with a break of 77 as he made it back-to-back frames.

Allen replied with successive frames of his own to move to the cusp of victory, but back came Williams with breaks of 53 and 86 to close the gap to 9-6.

The Northern Irishman, however, put the gloss on victory with a crowd-pleasing break of 114 to reach Round Two for the fourth straight year.

Barry Hawkins became the eighth seeded player to bow out in the opening round as he went down 10-8 to Ryan Day.

Welsh ace Day sensationally reeled off five frames on the spin to book his place in the Last 16 at The Crucible for the first time since 2014.

Having led 5-2, Day then watched Hawkins claim six consecutive frames to take command, compiling breaks of 92, 50 and 59 on Thursday evening.

Day, however, hit back in equally clinical fashion, firing in a 78 break and following up with breaks of 62 and 68 before producing a tremendous screw back on the green en route to making it 9-8.

The world number 18 then completed the turnaround with a break of 61 and will now face either Ronnie O’Sullivan or Jackson Page in the Last 16.

Seven-time champion O’Sullivan looks to have one foot in the Second Round after coasting to an 8-1 lead overnight.

O’Sullivan, who is seeking a first seasonal Triple Crown, was not at his brilliant best in the early stages but carved out a 6-0 lead with breaks of 54, 56, 81 and 122 in the process.

Page stopped the rot in magnificent style by equalling the current tournament high break of 142, but ‘The Rocket’ quickly resumed the barrage with breaks of 66 and 53.

Four-time champion John Higgins holds a slender 5-4 lead over Jamie Jones at the halfway stage of a fascinating contest.

Jones made a dream start by producing a break of 118 in the opening frame, and the 2012 quarter-finalist opened up a 3-1 lead at the interval.

Higgins, though, responded with a run of four straight frames, including breaks of 62 and 66, before Jones sealed the final frame of the evening with a well-taken 82.

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World Snooker Championship 2024 Day Five Scores

Wednesday April 24

Round One

Kyren Wilson 10-1 Dominic Dale
Ding Junhui 9-10 Jack Lisowski
Mark Allen 10-6 Robbie Williams
Ronnie O’Sullivan (8-1) Jackson Page
Barry Hawkins 8-10 Ryan Day
John Higgins (5-4) Jamie Jones