Snooker star savaged after horrible mistake at Northern Ireland Open

Huang Jiahao made a nightmare start on day one of the Northern Ireland Open.

Huang Jiahao made a baffling error during his match against Jack Lisowski (Image: TNT SPORTS)

Snooker star Huang Jiahao had a moment to forget at the Northern Ireland Open with a freak error in his opening match. He was already facing one of the toughest tasks of the day, coming up against defending champion Jack Lisowski. Huang was up against it from the very start, conceding the opening frame, but was immediately offered the chance to hit back in frame two. However, it couldn't have gone much worse as the Chinese player was involved in a moment of madness.

As he addressed the cue ball, Huang got his bearings horribly wrong and suffered a dreadful contact with the white, getting too far under it and chipping it over the brown.

The white ended up rolling to a stop on the other side of the table, leaving Huang to trudge back to his seat and handing Lisowski the initiative once again.

TNT Sports commentator Neal Foulds had little sympathy for the 31-year-old, suggesting that it wasn't the sort of thing he would expect to see from a top-level player.

The white ball jumped over the brown and ended up on the other side (Image: TNT SPORTS)

"Oh my goodness, fancy that," exclaimed a surprised Foulds. "A hard thing to happen. He pots five balls for a break of seven, gives away four and leaves a chance. Not a good look for a professional."

Lisowski ended up surging to a comprehensive 4-1 win to maintain his title defence in Belfast without too much difficulty.

He raced into a 3-0 lead but appeared to lose concentration in the fourth frame, with his ambitious shot choices allowing Huang to get on the board.

It looked like the same would happen in the fifth frame, but Huang's glimpse of good fortune quickly ran out and Lisowski sharpened up to cruise into the second round.

Speaking earlier on Sunday, he said: "It's amazing to be back. It brings back a lot of memories, it's a very special place to be for me. Honestly, it's quite a blur. Just a special feeling.

"Reflecting on a disappointing season so far, Lisowski said: "I'm kind of like a patchy player, so hopefully I can string it back together this week."

There were a couple of early surprises on the opening day, with two-time ranking event winner Xiao Guodong losing at the hands of Sam Craigie.

Mark Selby was also beaten by Louis Heathcode in a major upset after throwing away a two-frame lead in a painful 4-2 defeat.