JORDAN Brown will join Mark Allen in the final stages of the Welsh Open, which get under way on Monday, after a much-needed win over Gong Chenzhi in qualifying on Thursday evening.
Brown, winner of the event as a huge outsider in 2022, has had a disappointing season and has been slipping perilously close to falling out of the top 64, but this win will give him a huge boost for the remaining events in the season. He will face David Gilbert in the last 64 on Tuesday afternoon in Llandudno.
Antrim club-mate Allen, who has fallen to number eight in the world, will face teenage prodigy Stan Moody on Monday evening.
Antrim rookie Robbie McGuigan lost 4-1 to Louis Heathcote, while Aaron Hill, a quarter-finalist in the recent German Masters, lost 4-2 to Rory Thor, who fired breaks of 92, 136, 87 and 63.
Veteran Dubliner Ken Doherty lost 4-0 to Chenzhi.
