JACK LISOWSKI forged a 5-4 lead in his World Snooker Championship opener against Ding Junhui as the clash lived up to its billing as the tie of the round today.

Lisowski, who reached the quarter-finals at the Crucible in 2022, had to qualify for this year’s tournament after dropping out of the top 16, beating Matthew Stevens 10-3 last week to book his ticket.

But after falling behind early on against Ding, Lisowski looked back to his best as he edged a highly entertaining first session.