By Elliott West
Introduction
Hot off the heels from the Masters, local boy Jack Lisowski had to pick himself up and dust himself down for his opening match at the World Grand Prix in Cheltenham against his close friend and former practice partner Robert Milkins. This tournament which is a clash of the top 32 players was won last year by Ronnie O’Sullivan when he defeated Neil Robertson in the final and is being held against the backdrop of the Cheltenham Racecourse in the Centaur Arena in Prestbury Park.
This match had the potential of being very exciting, with the 2021 Gibraltar Open champion Robert Milkins cut from the same cloth as his opponent, both very attacking players. Lisowski who was still reeling from his 6-0 whitewash at the hands of Mark Williams in their semi-final Masters match, was a potential scalp for Milkins who has frankly been off the snooker radar since his maiden ranking title in 2021.
The Match
True to what it states on his milk bottle, the Milkman started his round with a frenzy of pots that quickly gave him a 3-1 advantage in a match format that only requires four frames to advance to the second round. Lisowski looked dead and buried but he managed to summon up some good play from the depths of his game and brought the match back to an even keel at 3-3. Jack got the early opportunity in the deciding frame, proving it is never too late for a comeback. Jack turned into Super Jack, buoyed on from winning the last two frames and his mood turned to one of positivity. A fluent break of 86 won the match and left his opponent somewhat annoyed for missing an easy red in the decider that should have handed him a 4-3 victory. However forever the gentleman, Rob didn’t let his loss get in the way of his friendship and gave Jack a warm and heartfelt hug at the end of the match.
Elsewhere
Mark Allen survived a scare in his match with Dave Gilbert. Early mistakes from both players eventually led to Gilbert taking a 2-1 lead with Allen looking tired and having to rub his eyes periodically. However, a quick-fire style managed to save the Northern Irishman as he reeled off three frames to win the match 4-2. Gilbert had his chances and the potential to put his poor season to bed but it wasn’t to be. A game where Allen attained a 133 break.
Wins also came for Zhou Yuelong who overcame Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in a deciding frame to win 4-3. Xiao Guodong poured more woe onto Neil Robertson’s poor recent form with a 4-1 win that sent the Australian crashing out in the first round. Perhaps he is still suffering from the effects of several bouts of pre and post-Christmas flu but a crumb of comfort was that he avoided a whitewash.
Thick and Fast
With the second day of play hours away, we now get into the thick of the tournament with an afternoon and evening format. There are some great matches in play today and here is the draw:
