DING JUNHUI suffered a shock first-round defeat to amateur Adam Duffy at the U.K. Championship in York on Tuesday night.

    The Chinese star, who became the first player outside Britain and Ireland to win this event back in 2005 when he defeated Steve Davis, was well below his best during the 6-2 loss but afterwards blasted the playing conditions.

    Ding is one of only seven players in the history of snooker to win this event more than once but there will be no third title for him this time at the Barbican Center.

    Sheffield cueman Duffy had surged into a 3-0 lead, scoring a top break of 94 in the opener, only to be pegged back to 3-2 before winning another three frames on the trot to progress. It was a match of just four 50+ breaks — of which Ding managed three of them — but Duffy’s ability to clinch the closer frames proved decisive.

    The 26-year-old Duffy, seeded 121 for the event, told BBC Sport: “I was confident going into the match because I have been working harder than I ever have before, but it’s crazy. I am buzzing.”

    In Tuesday night’s other first-round games, Liang Wenbo thrashed Gareth Allen 6-1, Anthony McGill claimed a 6-3 win over James Cahill, Joe Swail whitewashed Joel Walker 6-0, Tom Ford was an easy 6-1 winner over Scott Donaldson while Sydney Walker edged out Michael White 6-5 and Jack Lisowski battled hard to beat Zak Surety 6-4. The final game of the night saw Gary Wilson beat Martin O’Donnell 6-3.

    Earlier in the day, John Higgins eased into the second round with a 6-1 victory over Leo Fernandez, after a crowd member being treated for a seizure delayed play.

    Spectators and both players initially thought the audience member had fallen asleep, before realizing the situation was not so light-hearted. A World Snooker spokesman confirmed a member of the crowd had suffered a seizure, but received treatment and made a full recovery.(SD-Agencies)