Peter Ebdon of England competes during the group round against World No.1 player John Higgins of Scotland at the Hainan Snooker Classic in Boao, South China's Hainan Province, March 10, 2011. Higgins won the match 2-1.(Xinhua/Guo Cheng)

World No.1 John Higgins of Scotland took a good start by beating former world champion Peter Ebdon of England 2-1 at the Hainan Snooker Classic on Thursday in Boao, a county of south China's Hainan Province.

The 41-year-old Ebdon started in good form and took the first frame 82-0. The second frame went a bit tight till Ebdon grasped a chance and broadened the scores to 57-3. Later, Higgins fought back and sealed the second frame with 75-57.

At the crucial frame, Higgins found the form and dominated the match with a 61-0 lead. Though Ebdon got 24 later, he still could not change the situation. Higgins then played more steadily and finally won the match at 79-24.

A total of 16 top players are competing in the four-day event, among whom 10 rank top 16 in the world, including the third-ranked world champion Neil Robertson, former world champion Graeme Dott, the Englishman trio of Peter Ebdon, Allister Carter and Shaun Murphy.

The 16 players will be divided into four round-robin groups with the winner of each group advancing to the semifinals. All group round matches are best of 3, while semifinals are best of nine and finals best of 13.