Kurt Maflin defeats Cao Yupeng in the Wild Card round – China Open 2011
The Norwegian professional, Kurt Maflin, has beaten the Chinese Cao Yupeng by a frame score of 5-3 in his wild card round match for the last 32 of Beijing China Open 2011 held at Beijing Students University Gymnasium, China.
There were no century breaks made by either player during the match however the overall score-line between them was 33-73, 72-14, 55-49, 7-85, 7-67, 70-25, 92-0 and 80-6.
The 21-year-old, Yupeng, took the opening frame with dominant breaks of 23 and 32 to take first blood 1-0. However any early nerves were removed from Maflin who fired up classy breaks of 28 and 44 to level the contest by 1-1.
The third frame was quite long and very challenging. Yupeng got a good chance in the start, but he lost his nerves, breaking down of 22. A bout of safety play was seen afterwards among the players until it was again Maflin in the end that came on the top
and clinched the frame on the final black ball to lead by 2-1.
In the fourth frame Yupeng who was playing slow bounced back, with all of his zeal, energy and strength, and fired up a magnificent match-highest break of 85 to equal the contest by 2-2. He also took the following frame after showcasing his flawless safety
skills and turned a one frame deficit into a one frame advantage by 3-2.
It looked as if Yupeng, with this confidence will win the match and there was a shock on the cards, as Maflin was a heavy favourite for his wild card match. However it was proven wrong, as Maflin clawed back and finished the matter off by taking the next
three frames in a row.
Yupeng got a chance in the sixth, but this time he lost control of his emotions, breaking down on 21 and when the chance presented itself, Maflin slotted a superb break of 60 to equal the scores 3-3. He also took the seventh and eighth enjoying breaks of
67 and 52 to seal his victory by 5-3.
Maflin will now face the Chinese Sensation, Ding Junhui, in the last 32 match of Beijing China Open.
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