Oliver Lines Upsets World Number One Zhao Xintong in English Open

Oliver Lines produced the standout shock of the English Open first round, dumping out world number one Zhao Xintong with a fearless 4-2 victory in Brentwood.

Zhao, the 2025 world champion and heavy favourite on paper, twice underlined his class with two century breaks as the pair traded blows in the early stages. After four frames, they were locked at 2-2, Zhao looking ominous every time he got in, Lines refusing to go away.

The pressure should have been on the Englishman. Instead, he embraced it.

"You know you have to raise your game," Lines said afterwards. "You try not to think about it, but you know if you don't play somewhere near your best then you are going home."

He didn’t go home. He went up a gear.

With the match finely poised, Lines strung together a composed 77 to edge in front, then backed it up with an even better 84 in the next frame, shutting the door on any Zhao fightback and sealing a statement win. The 31-year-old now moves into the last 32, where he will face Yuan Sijun.

Big names fall, big names survive

Lines was not the only player to bloody a giant’s nose.

World number four Neil Robertson also crashed out, edged 4-3 by China’s Luo Zetao in another notable upset. The Australian, a former world champion and one of the sport’s most reliable performers, could not shake off Luo, who held his nerve in the decider to complete a memorable win.

Kyren Wilson avoided a similar fate. The former world champion imposed himself early against Poland’s Mateusz Baranowski and ran out a convincing 4-1 winner, easing into the next round with minimal fuss.

Ding Junhui was made to work much harder. The three-time UK Championship winner from China was pushed all the way by Michael Holt before squeezing through 4-3, keeping his own title ambitions alive on a day that showed no top player can feel entirely safe this week.