Jack Lisowski ends Bai Yulu’s bid for historic UK Championship appearance
Jack Lisovski ended Bai Yulu’s bid to become the first woman to reach the last 32 of the British Championships with a comfortable 6-1 win in the final qualifying round in Leicester.
The Englishman scored consecutive single shots of 79, 69, 64 and 77 in the first four rounds.
Chinese women’s world champion Bai, 21, briefly reduced her debt with a half-century but moved into the televised event at York as Lisovski sealed victory with scores of 85 and 66 Duan’s hopes were dashed.
“Obviously, it’s all about Bai,” Lisovsky said. “It would be incredible if she made the cut, but her performance was unbelievable regardless.
“It’s just about keeping my focus. Normally, I’m easily distracted even at the best of times. Obviously, that storyline was in my head.
“I think she missed the blue and made it 1-1, and then I played 50 and 60 seconds each. We kind of dragged each other down, but I’m happy to advance. If the score had been 1- 1, that’s when the game started and I think that was the key moment of the game.”
Lisovski, 33, is regarded as one of the best players to never win a ranking event and will now take part in the draw for the first Triple Crown event of the season in York on Thursday afternoon.
