Ganesh Kendale
Jack Lisowski ended Bai Yulu’s bid to become the first woman to reach the last 32 of the UK Championship with a comfortable 6-1 win in the final qualifying round in Leicester.
The Englishman made breaks of 79, 69, 64 and 77 as he reeled off the first four frames.
Chinese world women’s champion Bai, 21, made a half-century of her own to briefly reduce her arrears but her hopes of reaching the televised stages in York were dashed as Lisowski sealed his victory with runs of 85 and 66.
“Obviously, it was all about Bai,” said Lisowski. “It would have been incredible if she could have qualified, but she had an incredible run anyway.
“It was just about trying to keep my concentration. I get easily distracted normally at the best of times. So obviously, that storyline was in the back of my head.
“I think she missed the blue to make it 1-1 and then I made 50s and 60s each frame. We sort of dragged each other down a little bit, but I’m happy to get through. If it goes 1-1 it’s game on, I think that was the key moment in the match.”
Lisowski, 33, who is regarded as one of the best players to have never won a ranking tournament, now goes into Thursday afternoon’s draw for the first Triple Crown event of the season in York.
