Neil Robertson survives scare from Lei Peifan to stay on track at English Open

Defending champion Robertson and UK Championship winner Mark Allen progressed to the second round.

Neil Robertson progressed at the English Open. (Will Matthews/PA) (PA Wire)

Defending champion Neil Robertson reached the last 32 of the English Open after beating Lei Peifan.

The 40-year-old won 4-3 despite Peifan hitting three straight centuries to force a decider on Tuesday.

Robertson had raced into a 3-0 lead but Peifan made it 3-3 with breaks of 136, 134 and 121 only for Robertson to take the seventh frame with a crucial break of 67.

Robertson is joined by Judd Trump, who beat Craig Steadman 4-1, and Mark Selby after his 4-2 win over Joe O’Connor.

UK Championship winner Mark Allen beat Dylan Emery 4-1.

Ali Carter beat Chen Zifan 4-0, Ding Junhui won his second-round match against Xu Si 4-1 and John Higgins eased past Mark King 4-1.

Marco Fu, the 2008 UK Championship runner up, reached the last 64 by beating Jimmy Robertson 4-1 having spent two years without playing between February 2020 and April 2022 amid the Covid pandemic and surgery on his eyes.

“It’s nice to be back competing and playing to a decent standard. I have missed so many tournaments over the last few years,” he told wst.tv.

“I enjoy being around the other players, they are like a snooker family. But when the trips are too long, it is difficult mentally, I don’t feel healthy.

“The last time I came to the UK I needed to stay for three months because of the quarantine policy in Hong Kong.”