International Championship: John Higgins suffers shock exit, Ronnie O'Sullivan through
Last Updated: 26/10/14 4:30pm
John Higgins suffered a heavy defeat to Li Hang in the first round of the International Championship in Chengdu, China.
The four-time world champion was seen off 6-1 by Li, who made breaks of 70 and 93 in his victory, while the 39-year-old Scot had a highest run of 69.
Following his latest exit, Higgins has now failed to advance beyond the quarter-finals of any tournament since finishing runner-up at the Wuxi Classic in June 2013.
Higgins was joined by fellow experienced Scottish potters Graeme Dott and Alan McManus in being knocked out at the last-64 stage, with Dott trounced 6-1 by England's Craig Steadman, despite making a break of 139 in the frame he won, and McManus falling 6-4 to young compatriot Anthony McGill.
Ronnie O'Sullivan had no such trouble against a more established opponent in Leicester's Ben Woollaston, the 38-year-old winning through 6-4 to earn a shot at McGill in the last 32. O'Sullivan plundered breaks of 124, 97 and 87 twice in his opener at the tournament.
Jimmy White fell 6-4 to Barry Hawkins, Mark Williams eased to a 6-1 win over Oliver Brown, Mark Allen sped to a 6-0 whitewash against Nigel Bond, and Stuart Bingham earned a 6-4 victory over Robbie Williams.
