Snooker's China Open has begun in Beijing, and with the World Championship fast approaching next month, each player was looking for a strong finish to the season in the penultimate ranking event.

The 27-year-old China star has been in bad form of late, having been knocked out in the first round six tournaments in a row.

His opponent in the opening round was Marcus Campbell, who was more than 50 places lower in the world rankings. Early on the difference in class was clear. Ding took advantage of Campbell's mistakes to take a 3-nil lead.

The Englishman then took one frame back, 77-34, to make it 3-1. The pair played out a long-lasting fifth frame before Ding eventually established a 4-1 lead, then he hit a 50 and a 58 break respectively to win 108-16 in the sixth.

World No. 21 beaten by Wilson 5-3

Liang Wenbo, who climbed up to world number 21 after reaching the semi-finals of the German Masters, faced Gary Wilson in the opening round of this event. Trailing 2-1, Wilson shot a break of 87 to level at 2-2. He went on to win the next two frames, including a break of 114 in the sixth, to reach match point. Liang fought hard to pull one back, but Wilson finished the match in the eighth frame with a break of 83.

17-year-old beats Davies 5-0 in wildcard round

China's young talent Zhao Xin'tong played in the wild card round, facing Alex Davies in the first match of the tournament. This was the the third China Open for the 17-year-old, and it only took him 80 minutes to claim a 5-0 victory. Next up for the youngster is Mark Williams.

World No. 2 stunned by Poomjaeng 5-4

Last year's runner-up Neil Robertson could not make it past the first hurdle. The Australian led 3-1 after a break of 63 in frame four, but Thailand's Dechawat Poomjaeng hit back to win the next three frames with a top run of 74. Robertson leveled at 4-4 and had a 44-0 advantage in the decider, but it came down to the colors and Poomjaeng eventually potted the final black to reach the last 32.

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