Day four at Prestatyn as the final qualifying round before the final stages in Glasgow gets underway and already we are seeing some surprising scorelines coming through. Click below to read what has happened so far in the morning session:
Morning Session
Bedford claims Williams scalp
The shock of the day came at around 2:15pm when Simon Bedford remarkably saw off double world champion Mark Williams in a tense deciding frame. Having previously defeated Declan Hughes, Andy Hicks and Mike Dunn this week, Bedford’s went into this match on a great run of form but I doubt many people would have fancied his chances to actually beat Williams.
He started off in terrific form however, moving into a 3-0 lead before Williams showed his class to fight back. Eventually going to 4-4, a tense final frame was to follow with the players scrapping over the last few balls for a long period as Williams sought a snooker. This was not to come however as Bedford managed to get over the line and record one of the best wins of his career. It will be strange not to have Williams at the Grand Prix but you have to give full credit to Bedford who has done a terrific job all week. It will be interesting to see how he does in Glasgow now.
Parrott on song as Ken’s woes continue
Following his heavy defeat to Jimmy White in qualifying for Shanghai, Ken Doherty today suffered further disappointment as he was whitewashed by 1991 world champion John Parrott. Indeed JP who scored heavily yesterday to edge past Atthasit Mahitthi had it much easier today as Doherty failed to find his rhythm and the match was over in well under two hours.
Whether Ken is struggling to adapt to the conditions in Prestatyn or whether he is simply having problems with his game I’m not so sure but hopefully he can turn things around soon as he will now be provisionally ranked outside of the top 32. Parrott meanwhile will be delighted to have made the TV stages in Glasgow and put off his TV work for a few days at least!
Davis gets long day off to perfect start
Indeed the BBC might be struggling as fellow presenter Steve Davis became the third man to book his place in Glasgow this morning with a 5-4 win over Tom Ford. At one stage it looked like Davis would win comfortably as he moved into a 4-1 lead but Ford had other ideas and took the next three frames to force a decider. Aided by a 42 break however, Steve used his experience to great effect as he managed to keep his composure and take the match.
That’s not all for Steve today however as of course he is in Premier League action tonight against Joe Perry in Derby. At least if he loses he won’t be able to use a lack of match practice as an excuse.
Harold still the king
Another man in fine form today was Stoke’s Dave Harold who wasted no time in thrashing China’s Jin Long to qualify for his third ranking event of the season. As previously this season, Harold’s scoring was lethal as he hit breaks of 83, 74, 56, 53 and 40 to give Long no chance and he will be one that nobody will want to be paired with in tomorrow’s last 32 draw.
Round Four
Dominic Dale 4-5 Jimmy Michie 78(52)-1, 1-78(50), 8-74(74), 50-48, 5-73(34), 33-65(41), 60(38)-51, 73(55)-0, 24-75(37)
Steve Davis 5-4 Tom Ford 68(68)-22, 22-85(57), 68(50)-40, 66(33)-9, 74(43)-0, 1-73(44), 1-107(46,61), 3-73(67), 66(42)-0
Dave Harold 5-0 Jin Long 99(83)-0, 79(69)-30(30), 65(40)-51(37), 63(56)-10, 81(53)-11
Anthony Hamilton 5-4 Alan McManus 11-77(77), 25-67, 79(59)-8, 85(54)-0, 15-116(116), 72-44, 26-62, 121(121)-1, 96(96)-0
Mark Williams 0-1 Simon Bedford 1-62, 43-76(50), 19-74(73), 74(38)-65(44), 65(44)-37, 58(58)-20, 15-60, 73(67)-40(40), 36-70
Ken Doherty 0-5 John Parrott 32-67, 1-87(87), 42-56, 17-65, 41(30)-63
Michael Judge 2-5 Michael Holt 53-14, 47-60(35), 15-94(64), 34-70(63), 24-54, 23-56(40)
Joe Swail – Ricky Walden 59-39, 65(65)-63(63), 14-77(70), 18-63(34), 49-63, 57-22, 0-108(51,55), 37-51