In this Nov 26, 2019 photo, Liang Wenbo of China competes during the Snooker UK Championship 2019 first round match with Dominic Dale of Wales in York, Britain. (HAN YAN / XINHUA)

LONDON - China's Liang Wenbo failed to go through the first round at the Snooker World Championship as he lost 10-5 to Australian Neil Robertson on Sunday.

Five-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan only need to win two more frames on Monday to meet China's ace Ding Junhui

Liang booked a place in the final stages at the World Championship with two wins in the qualifier. The world number 34 pushed hard at the beginning of the first round, fighting from 3-5 down to 5-5. But world number two Robertson dominated the following match, winning five frames in a row to reach the last 16.

Veteran John Higgins breezed past Matthew Stevens while David Gilbert became the first seed being defeated as the world number 12 lost to Kurt Maflin 10-8.

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Five-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan only need to win two more frames on Monday to meet China's ace Ding Junhui in the second round as he led Thai player Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 8-1.

The 20-year-old Yan Bingtao from China led Elliot Slessor 7-1.