Ding Junhui needed a quick change after arriving in the wrong trousers for his opening match at the English Open in Brentwood. He recovered from being docked a frame to grind out a 4-3 victory over Ma Hailong.
Ding had arrived in his usual brown suit with bow tie and waistcoat, which was not in line with the black shirt and black trousers dress code for the BetVictor Home Nations Series event.
After a friend headed to Brentwood High Street to buy Ding some new clothes, the player was late for his scheduled start time and so forfeited the first frame. Despite falling 3-1 behind, Ding mounted a recovery against his Chinese compatriot with breaks of 51 and 84 to complete a comeback win.
“I totally forgot that I needed a black shirt and trousers for this tournament. My memory is not good. I didn’t think about it,” Ding said, quoted on the World Snooker Tour website. “Once I was playing I tried to just concentrate on the match. Luckily, Ma’s safety was not that good and he gave me enough chances to win.”
Elsewhere, Mark Allen made four consecutive century breaks – the highest 127 – as he thrashed Mostafa Dorgham 4-0 in less than an hour. Ronnie O’Sullivan coasted past Andrew Pagett 4-0 and will face Jackson Page, who beat Ken Doherty by the same score, while John Higgins edged out Marco Fu 4-3, with a re-rack needed in frame one.
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There were also wins for Jack Lisowski and Anthony McGill, but Jimmy White’s hopes ended with a 4-2 loss to Joe O’Connor.