Welsh Open 2012 (Day 1) - Whitewash is the name of the game

Holt is offcially a player in this year's Welsh Open

This year's edition of the Welsh Open started with no less than three whitewashes, Ryan Day, Mark Davis and Fergal O'Brien being the ones that experienced the cruelness of this scoreline. 

But there's also another important aspect about the first day of the tournament that's held in Newport and that is Steve Davis winning a very tense encounter with Ali Carter by 4-3 and Shaun Murphy performing a very strong comeback from being lead 2-0 and winning against Mark Joyce by 4-2.

The first three matches of the Welsh Open ended on the same scoreline, a crystal clear 4-0. First to open the series was the match given between the local star, Welshman Ryan Day and Michael Holt, the last named one having no mercy on his opponent and using runs of 79, 72 and 50 to end the Welshman's hopes of qualifying for this event.

A 4-0 victory to start with, for Judd Trump

Second in line was Ding Junhui who took revenge of experiencing such an early exit during the German Masters, his opponent Mark Davis not being able to score more than nine points during the match, while Ding cruised smoothly towards victory. He is now to face the winner or tonight's match between Higgins and Wenbo.

Judd Trump, who also kicked himself after missing an easy ball during the German Masters quarter-finals and missed to go into the next round by doing so, was also in a great form, the Irishman Fergal O’Brien being kneeled down with breaks of 58, 61, 36, 34 and 104. 

Master Steve Davis put on quite a show and I'm not talking about his musical radio show, but a brilliant snooker one. The player nicknamed "The Nugget" had to face "The Captain" Ali Carter, both players engaging in a serious battle of cues right from the beginning.

Master Davis wins over Captain Carter

It was a tense match, because the players weren't separated by more than a frame from the start of it. So if Carter broke the ice with a 69 break, Davis won the second frame with a 61. If Carter cashed a scrappy affair with runs of 24 and 28, the six-time world champion was clearing the table with a great 121 for a 2-2 scoreline.

The one who got closer to victory was Carter, whose break of 83 put him back in command of the match, but Davis didn't give up and responded with a 63 break (a great blue was potted in the process as frame ball) to force the decider.

What followed was a genuine lesson of class. Davis took one ball at a time, not rushing in, at the end hitting another century break, this time a 117 to seal a perfect victory of 4-3.

Murphy comes back for victory

At the next table, Shaun Murphy was meeting Mark Joyce a player that got to the venue after having a great qualifying run. And by the looks of it, it seemed like Joyce was about to continue it today. He flied at 2-0, Murphy missing one shot after another and not being able to settle in.

But then it happened. The Smurf's comeback. Runs of 65, 71, 71 and 89 were enough not only to draw level at 2-2 but also to get the 2005 world champion the victory and a place in the Last 16 round where he's meeting the winner of the previous match, Steve Davis. 

Mark Joyce, a rare face on our telly screens

Last match of the second session saw the likes of Graeme Dott and Tom Ford cueing their way into the next round. But since one only spot was available and they were two, the one who made it was the PTC 11 champion, Tommy-boy who beat Scotland's ambassador by 4-2.

The day is far from being over though, two more matches having to be played tonight from 7pm (UK time). The defending champion, John Higgins is facing the "back for good" Liang Wenbo, while the second qualifying match of the day is featuring the names of Dominic Dale and Sam Baird.