Akbar and Wild miss German trip

OLDHAM’S two snooker stars were first-round casualties in the qualifiers for the German Masters in Wigan.

Werneth-based Hamza Akbar lost 5-1 to superstar Ronnie O’Sullivan, who was making his first competitive appearance since losing to Stuart Bingham in the quarter-finals of the World Championship in April.

Akbar, who practices at the Oldham Snooker Academy, matched O’Sullivan early on, but “The Rocket” pulled away and clinched victory with breaks of 58 and 51 in the last two frames.

O’Sullivan went on to lose in the next stage of the tournament, 5-3 against Stuart Carrington.

Moorside ace Wild made a bold bid against highly rated Anthony McGill, establishing a 3-2 lead with the aid of a 50 break, but lost the last three frames against an opponent who clinched victory with a magnificent 133 break. McGill lost 5-4 to Mark King in the second round.