DAQING, CHINA, Oct. 30 -- Top stars Ronnie O'Sullivan and Ding Junhui said early goodbyes to the 2017 World Snooker International Championship just after the first round here in Daqing, China.
Facing home favorite 17-year-old Yan Bingtao, Englishman O'Sullivan received more cheers and applauses when he entered the stadium as always. However, Yan soon earned respect by establishing a 2-0 lead.
O'Sullivan had an impressive 111-point break in the third frame before he was limited to zero point in the next three frames. With a comfortable 5-1 lead in hand, Yan only let O'Sullivan score five points before he finished the seventh frame 68-5.
"If Yan plays like that he'll be very difficult to beat in this tournament. All the great players won tournaments when they were 17 or 18 so if he's going to be a great player then he'll win one soon," said "the Rocket", who suffered an ankle injury.
Ding Junhui, who struggled to past the qualification round with a 6-3 win, did not work out this time. With tons of mistakes and turnovers, he was upset by Oliver Lines in ten frames.
It took 11 frames for Liang Wenbo to beat Lee Walker and earn a second round berth in a China derby against Li Hang.