Chen Zifan (pictured below) got his season off to a bright start with a confidence building 4-2 victory over Michael Georgiou in the Riga masters qualifiers. Zifan raced into a 3-0 lead aided by breaks of 52 and 61 but Georgiou bounced back to win the next two frames to cut the deficit to 3-2. Frame 6 was a killer for Georgiou to lose as he missed a straightforward pink to the left centre to level the match and Zifan jumped out of his seat to pot the final Pink and Black for victory.

Former masters champion Alan McManus (pictured below) was in red hot form as he beat Billy Castle 4-1 in his season opener. McManus put in a vintage display stroking in breaks of 50,82,109 and 128 on route to victory and with this being a big season for McManus due to his current ranking of 63 he will be delighted with this performance.

The talented Mei Xi Wen (pictured below)  put in a dynamite display in beating the experienced Paul Davison 4-0. Mei stroked in breaks of 70,87 and 119 on route to victory and us at howeveryoulikebreak.com think this young man has a big future in the game. Consistency has been a big problem for Mei but when he is on his day he is a serious match for anyone and if he can find that consistency it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him at the business end of a tournament.

Former International championship champion Ricky Walden (pictured below) Beat the impressive Si Jiahui 4-1 to get his season off to a flying start. Walden stroked in a sublime break of 131 in frame 4 and with his neck and back troubles seemingly behind him maybe now he can start to reproduce the excellent form he was in prior to his injuries.