Tour Championship: Ding Junhui leads Mark Allen 5-3 in quarterfinals

Ding Junhui was ranked 23rd in the world and Mark Allen was third in the standings.

Ding Junhui bounced back from losing the first two frames to lead Mark Allen 5-3 after the first session of the 19-frame Tour Championship quarter-final.

A break 72 gave Allen a 2-0 lead, but Ding collected 116 points the next to win fourth.

Allen regained the lead by winning fifth, but breaks of 51 and 67 from the Chinese player in frame six saw him regain parity in the Hull Bonus Arena.

Series 92 made it 4-3 to Dean, who also won the next one, two frames clear.

Eight participants in the event were determined by the points scored in the ranking tournaments in this season’s competition before the Tour Championship.

In other first round matches played throughout the week, Ali Carter will face Kyren Wilson on Tuesday, Mark Selby will face Ryan Day on Wednesday and Shaun Murphy will face Robert Milkins on Thursday.

Allen of Northern Ireland, who has won three tournaments this season, is in first place, while Ding is eighth.

The pair met in the UK Championship final in York in November, where Allen won 10-7 in the decider.

The winner will receive a first prize of £150,000 out of a total prize pool of £380,000.