Higgins and Lisowski knocked out of NI Open

John Higgins and reigning champion Jack Lisowski joined the list of notable players eliminated from the Northern Ireland Open, as they suffered second-round defeats at the Waterfront Hall. Lisowski, who claimed his first ranking title last year, was defeated 4-1 by Anthony McGill, while Higgins succumbed to a 4-2 loss against Wales' Jak Jones. Stuart Bingham also exited the tournament, losing 4-0 to Ka Wai Cheung.

However, there was a bright spot for home favorite Jordan Brown, who overcame emotional challenges to advance to the third round. Brown, who had previously beaten Mark Allen in a highly charged first-round match, triumphed 4-3 against Michael Holt and will face Scott Donaldson in the next round. Other winners on Wednesday included Mark Williams, who defeated Zhang Anda 4-2, Daniel Wells who beat Ryan Day 4-3, and David Gilbert who overcame Sam Craigie 4-3.

Notable second-round results also saw Pang Junxu defeat Liam Davies 4-3, Ka Wai Cheung eliminate Stuart Bingham 4-0, and Gao Yang claim a 4-1 victory over Luca Brecel.