Chinese home favorite Ding Junhui beat Welshman Lee Walker with a 5-3 win at the China Snooker Championship in Guangzhou on Monday night.
Ding took the early running with a break of 51 at the first frame and a 73-30 win in the second, establishing a 2-0 lead.
In the third frame, Walker clawed back with a break of 60 changing the score to 1-2.
Welsh snooker player Lee Walker ponders a move at China Championship 2018, Sept, 24, Guangzhou, China. /VCG Photo
However, 31-year-old Ding continued the hot hand, accomplishing a 77-6 frame with a 3-1 game as they entered the mid-session interval.
Walker then responded with a break of 84 to bring the score to 3-2 in the fifth frame. Ding hit another break of 70 in the sixth, grabbing the game point.
The Welshman saved the game point with a break of 51 in the seventh but failed to resist Ding's offensiveness with a 68 break in the eighth.