LONDON, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- China's Ding Junhui crashed out of the first round of the Welsh Open snooker tournament in Cardiff on Tuesday.
World number five Ding, who won the event in 2012, suffered a 4-2 reverse against Finland's Robin Hull, who was ranked 53rd in the world.
Despite defeat, Ding spent time after the match signing autographs with a group of around 40 Chinese fans from Cardiff University.
Four-time champion Ronnie O'Sullivan made a strong start to the defence of his Welsh Open title as he beat Tom Ford 4-1.
Judd Trump looked in fine form as he saw off Andrew Higginson 4-1 with top breaks of 102, 52, 140 and 56.
World Champion Selby also eased through, beating Liam Highfield 4-0 with a top run of 89.
I haven't done well in the last few tournaments so I'm keen to get back on track, said world number one Selby. You are bound to have a few blips during the season - and I've lost to players in very good form in the last few events.
Home favorite Mark Williams suffered a first round exit as he went down 4-3 against world number 115 Elliot Slessor.
China's rising star Yan Bingtao continued to impress as he beat Daniel Wells 4-1 with a top run of 68, while Mark Allen saw off Sydney Wilson 4-0.