Judd Trump moved within touching distance of becoming the third player to rack up 1,000 career centuries after a 4-1 win over Robert Milkins in the first round of the British Open in Cheltenham.
Trump’s break of 104 in the opening frame was his 999th ton and leaves him one away from joining Ronnie O’Sullivan and John Higgins as the only players to have reached the milestone.
The world number one had a chance to make the mark in style when he looked on course for a maximum in the fifth and final frame of the match but missed the 11th black on a break of 81.
Higgins, who only accomplished the feat himself at last week’s English Open, eased past fellow Scot Ross Muir 4-1 in his first match since his unbroken 29-year stay in the world’s top 16 came to an end last week.
Mark Williams suffered a shock 4-1 defeat to Malaysia’s Rory Thor, while Ding Junhui and Ali Carter both fell in deciders to Aaron Hill and Bulcsu Revesz respectively.
But there were no such problems for world champion Kyren Wilson, who scorched to a 4-0 win over Julien Leclercq.
O’Sullivan withdrew from his scheduled first-round match against Thailand’s Manasawin Phetmalaikul on Monday morning.
The World Snooker Tour announced O’Sullivan’s withdrawal in a short statement but no reason was given.
