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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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