Ding Junhui 4 to 6 Higgins
On February 20, Beijing time, the first round of the 2024** Gram Players Championship (16 into 8), the focus battle, Ding Junhui vs. Higgins, in the end, Ding Junhui lost 4-6 and suffered a round of tours, facing Higgins, Ding Junhui has lost 6 in a row, Higgins is too strong, and has become the second player to advance to the quarterfinals, Trump has already qualified.
Ding Junhui was out early in the past Welsh tournament, and as we all know, after winning the 2019 British Championship, he has never won the championship of the ranking tournament again, of course, he has been able to reach the final of the British Championship for two consecutive years, which also makes Ding Junhui still a top 16 player and has also qualified for this player championship.
Known as "The Wizard", Higgins is a world champion and Grand Slam player who hasn't won a title in a while. According to statistics, the two have played each other 29 times on the tour before, with 14 wins, 1 draw and 14 losses. This is also the second meeting between the two this season, with Higgins winning 6-1 in the previous title of the champion. And in the last 5 encounters, Ding Junhui suffered 5 consecutive defeats.
The first round adopts a best-of-11 format. In the first game, Higgins scored 102 points in a single stroke and won 122-8 easily, 1-0. In the second game, the two played intermittently, and Ding Junhui won 47-22, 1-1. In the third game, Ding Junhui scored 70 points in a single stroke, won 92-45, and overtook 2-1. In the fourth game, Higgins made a number of 88-0 clean sheets, and the two of them were 2-2 in the first half.
In the 5th game, Ding Junhui won with a single stroke of 125 points, 3-2. In the 6th game, Higgins scored 68 points in a single stroke, 76-3 easily, 3-3. In the 7th game, Ding Junhui made a mistake, and Higgins won 67-47 many times and led 4-3. In the 8th game, Ding Junhui cleared the stage and scored 127 points in a single stroke to win easily, 4-4. In the crucial 9th game, after the two defended many times, Higgins still won the key game with a single stroke of 65 points and 71-12, and got the match point 5-4. In the 10th game, Ding Junhui made a mistake to give a chance, and Higgins reversed in a single game and advanced 6-4.