Xu Si recovers to defeat Ding Junhui at WST World Grand Prix in HKSAR

Xu Si came back from two frames down to defeat Ding Junhui 4-3 in an all-Chinese battle at the World Snooker Tour (WST) World Grand Prix in south China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Wednesday, advancing to the next round.

Ding, 37, began the match by clinching the first two frames after firing two breaks of 81 and 50 points. Xu soon launched a counter strike in the third and made multiple tough shots to tie the score at 2-2.

Ding made the only century of the match with 108 in the fifth frame to claim it and gain the lead again at 3-2, but Xu responded with a break of 81 in the next frame, putting the competition back to a stalemate.

In the end, Xu secured the decider 67-4 and his spot in the second round. It was his second victory over Ding after the WST Classic in 2023.

In other matches on the day, World Open champion John Higgins of Scotland beat Englishman Ali Carter 4-3. Judd Trump knocked out Gary Wilson 4-2 in an all-English clash. Home player Xiao Guodong edged Jak Jones of Wales 4-3. Hossein Vafaei of Iran beat Si Jiahui of China 4-3.