Snooker:Local favourite Ding Junhui bowed out of the Honghe Industrial China Open after a surprise defeat to Barry Hawkins while Ken Doherty safely negotiated his way through to the second round.
Junhui, 19, was beaten 5-3 at the Beijing University Gymnasium despite having had chances to draw level and take the match into a deciding frame. The Chinese prodigy's early exit from this year's £225,500 event will come as a big disappointment to his army of fans who packed out the arena.
But for Hawkins, who has not won a ranking match all season, victory was understandably sweet. "I've not won a match all season, so to beat Ding is a great result for me," said the world number 12. "I knew I was playing well, but it was just a case of getting over the line at the end. That's something I've not been able to do this season."
Hawkins started in fine fashion with a 116 break, but Ding, the 2005 China Open winner, sunk a superb 123 break to square proceedings. A former Grand Prix semi-finalist, Hawkins then compiled a 134 break to lead 2-1, before Ding levelled by winning a scrappy fourth frame.
Hawkins had an 84 break and then won the sixth frame 77-25 to edge closer to the winning line, but Ding kept battling and won the next frame on a re-spotted black. But it was to be Hawkins' match, his 57 break in the final frame enough to knock Ding out and end Chinese interest in this year's competition.
As for Doherty, last season's Malta Cup champion, he enjoyed a comfortable passage with a 5-1 win over Chinese wildcard Li Hang. Doherty pocketed breaks of 63, 65 and 65 to earn a last-16 showdown with England's Mark Selby, who beat Anthony Hamilton 5-4.
Belfast's Joe Swail enjoyed an impressive 5-3 win over Peter Ebdon, this year's Maplin UK champion. The former world champion trailed 4-3 against Swail and a had chance to take the match into a deciding frame, but the Irishman, who now plays Barry Hawkins in the next round, won it on a black-ball decider in the eighth.
Incredibly Swail's highest break in the match was 40, but the world number 30 ground his way to victory despite Ebdon having match breaks of 80, 53, 87 and even 59 in the decisive eighth frame.