There were never more than two frames between the pair, but Lisowski seemed to have the better of his opponent when he went 8-6 and then 9-7 up late on.
However, Ding kept in the fight, recording a break of 56 to make it 9-8 and then putting together an incredible 131 clearance in the 18th to force a final-frame decider.
Lisowski played clinically in that decider, going 84 clear to wrap up the frame as well as the match and set up a second-round clash with Stuart Bingham.
"I always thought it was going to be a really close game, everyone was saying it would be," Lisowski told BBC.
"My game is in really good shape and when you're confident in your cueing you've always got a chance.
"I just wanted a chance in the last frame and everything went in the middle of the pocket. It's probably one of my best wins ever."
Ding is the seventh seed to exit the tournament early on, with the likes of Mark Williams, Mark Selby and defending champions Luca Brecel all accounted for in the first round.
