Jordan Brown has been beaten by Robert Milkins in the first round of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, as defending champion Judd Trump eased into the second round.
Despite staging a mini comeback, Antrim man Brown fell to a 4-2 defeat at his home event to continue his frustrating start to the new season.
Milkins took the opener with a swift break of 69 before taking a scrappy second frame on the black. Brown was in control, getting in with a break of 56, but he left the yellow over the corner pocket.
Milkins ruthlessly took advantage to clear the colours, finishing with an excellent long pink, and then a black along the top rail.
The third followed a similar pattern as the 'Antrim Ferrari' had the first chance, but it was Milkins who was motoring best, knocking in an 81.
With Brown on the brink of a whitewash, he attacked the fourth frame, building a 49-point lead before missing two reds into the bottom right corner.
Both players then missed chances before Brown got in and potted a couple of reds and colours to finally get on the scoreboard.
And that appeared to settle the 37-year-old, who narrowed the gap to the minimum in the next.
But the sixth frame would prove to be the last as Milkins put Brown into a couple of snookers, eventually forcing the Antrim man into an error which opened up the reds.
Milkins needed two opportunities before finally falling over the line, as Brown, needing four snookers, came up short.
"I didn't really put it away when I should have. In these best of sevens it's so important to get off to a good start, and get on the front foot early - Rob did.
"Even at 3-0 I still fancied the job. I've been working hard off the table recently and I've got a bit more belief in my game and I think that showed today.
"I could have been easily down and out at one stage there but I kept my hopes up. Even at 3-2, [it was] a slight cannon that went wrong.
"It's just fine margins this game and Rob, in the end, deserved to win."
'I've good memories, I've won it a few times'
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) October 20, 2024
Judd Trump says it would be amazing to a win fifth @WeAreWST Northern Ireland Open after his 4-0 first round victory over Ishpreet Singh Chadha
Report: https://t.co/pxQ0Len4Wv #RTESport #Snooker #NIOpen pic.twitter.com/WxRuOvccfh
Defending champion Judd Trump began with a straightforward whitewash over Ishpreet Singh Chadha.
Trump, who has won the tournament four times since 2018, looked in confident form, knocking in two centuries over the course of the match, and restricting his opponent to just 31 points.
"He's had a great start to the season so I knew it was going to be a bit of a tough draw in the first round.
"It's a place, when I come here, I've really good memories of it. I've won it a few times. Normally I'm able to get off to a quick start.
"That's what I needed and [it was] a great start to the tournament."
On winning defending his title this week, which would give him a fifth Northern Ireland Open title overall, he added: "Five times would be absolutely amazing to win one event. There's obviously a long way to go."
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