Wuhan Open 2025: Luca Brecel 'a no-show' for first event of snooker season as Mark Williams, John Higgins and Reanne Evans enjoy winning starts
Updated 23/06/2025 at 17:09 GMT+1
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Mark Williams and John Higgins displayed their enduring quality as both 'Class of '92' icons made a winning start to the new 2025/26 season with comfortable victories in qualifying for the Wuhan Open on Sunday. But it was a different story for fellow former Crucible champion Luca Brecel, who failed to show up in Leicester with his opponent, Haris Tahir, handed a 5-0 walkover win.
'Incredible, amazing, phenomenal!' - Williams beats Higgins in dramatic decider to move into semis
Video credit: TNT Sports
It was a familiar story for Mark Williams, John Higgins and Luca Brecel as the Wuhan Open qualifiers marked the first day of the new snooker season at Leicester's Mattioli Arena on Sunday.
While world No. 3 Williams and world No. 4 Higgins produced typically assured displays to book spots in the last 64 and a trip to China in August, Brecel failed to show up for his match.
The 2023 world champion Brecel was due to face Pakistan's world No. 82 Haris Tahir in the round of 128, but Tahir was handed a 5-0 whitewash walkover with the 'Belgian Bullet' nowhere to be seen for his 2:30pm engagement.
Brecel struggled badly for consistency last term, dropping out of the top 16 to 39th in the world, and also failed to turn up for his opening qualifying match against Hammad Miah at the Xi'an Grand Prix in Leicester last July.
"Luca Brecel, 2023 World Champion, was a no-show for his match against Haris Tahir so his opponent was awarded a walkover," confirmed a report on the World Snooker Tour website.
There were no such problems for 'Class of '92' icons Higgins and Williams, who picked up from where they left off last season by making winning starts to their respective 34th campaigns on the main circuit.
Higgins, who secured the World Open and Tour Championship titles after a four-year title drought, produced breaks of 59, 62 and 71 in a 5-2 win over Chinese hopeful Huang Jiahao, while last month's World Championship finalist and three-time Crucible winner Williams enjoyed a 5-0 victory over Chatchapong Nasa in which he top scored with a closing 67.
There was also an impressive 5-4 victory for 12-time women's world champion Reanne Evans, who recovered from 3-1 down against David Lilley to secure her progress, boosted by a closing knock of 61.
Elsewhere, 2023 world semi-finalist Si Jiahui, who lost 10-7 to Xiao Guodong in last year's Wuhan Open final, also made a winning start to the season with a 5-2 victory over Bulcsu Revesz.
World Open finalist Joe O'Connor showed his qualities as he ran in 116, 88, 82 and 55 in recovering from 4-2 down in a 5-4 win over Jiang Jun.
Meanwhile, there was a shock 5-2 win for world No. 70 Louis Heathcote, who rolled in 117 against last season's English and Scottish Open finalist Wu Yize.
Wu narrowly lost 10-8 in the first round of the World Championship to Williams as he finished the season ranked at a career-best world No. 20.
Qualifying continues on Monday with Masters champion Shaun Murphy facing 14-year-old Polish newcomer Michal Szubarczyk, Neil Robertson taking on Leone Crowley and Mark Selby confronting Alexander Ursenbacher.
Matches involving defending champion Xiao, world No. 1 Judd Trump and seven-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan have been held over to the finals venue, with the competition being staged between August 24 and 30.
O'Sullivan has been handed a match against Allan Taylor in what could be his first appearance of the season at a ranking event, with Trump up against Farakh Ajaib and Xiao meeting former women's world champion Mink Nutcharut.
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