John Higgins claimed an emphatic victory against Dylan Emery in their opening-round match at the Turkish Masters.

The fixtures of the 2022 Turkish Masters kicked off yesterday at the Nirvana Cosmopolitan Hotel, Antalya, Turkey. In the first round of matches played, John Higgins needed a stroke of luck to secure his victory over Dylan Emery.

The game began with European U21 snooker champion Dylan Emery taking the first frame, but Higgins responded with a 104 break to level up.

A disjointed third frame went down to the final two colours, and Emery passed up his chance to regain the advantage and seal the frame when 54-50 up. He hit the pink too high when he aimed for the middle pocket.

Knowing fully well that he needed both final colours, Higgins went for a long pot into the bottom-right corner and at first, he was someway off potting the pink. Nonetheless, it eventually rolled into the opposing middle pocket before he also sunk the black to win the tight third frame.

Higgins, four-time world champion, then took a 3-1 lead into the interval. Finally, Higgins won the game 5-2, sealing his victory with a 128 break.

In other games played yesterday, Zhao Xintong beat Michael White 5-4, and Kyren Wilson, who was in spectacular form, thrashed Rory McLeod 5-0.

Si Jiahui saw off Anthony McGill with a 5-2 win, Wu Yize beat Haydon Pinhey 5-1, Tom Ford defeated Anthony Hamilton 5-2, and Graeme Dott progressed after a 3-3 victory over Scott Donaldson.

Alexander Ursenbacher narrowly lost 4-5 to Matthew Selt, Ashley Hugill was beaten by Jordan Brown, who won 5-2, and Thepchaiya Un-Nooh comprehensively beat Ismail Turker 5-0.

The total prize money for the Turkish Masters will be £500,000, and the winner’s share is £100,000, while the runner-up will receive £45,000.

Written by: Collins Nwokolo