One day into the Masters qualifiers and already we have seen a big upset as young Welsh prodigy Michael White has sent 1997 world champion Ken Doherty crashing out of the tournament at the first hurdle. Click below for that and all of the other results from today…
Many people expected Ken Doherty to come through and book his place at Wembley this week, indeed 21% of voters in my poll on the subject tipped him to win, but surprisingly he came unstuck early as Michael White recorded a 4-2 victory. Having recovered from 2-0 down to draw level with breaks of 52 and 63, Ken must have fancied his chances against his young opponen but White was having none of it and bounced back to take the next two and secure his place in the second round.
Although this is not a ranking event, a 4-2 victory over someone of Ken’s calibre must be up there with the very best results of Michael’s fledgling career. He did of course beat John Parrott in the Shanghai Masters qualifiers earlier this season but Ken has been in much better form than John and this is bound to give him a confidence boost. Next up for him will be another tough match however as he will lock horns with Nottingham’s Michael Holt.
Elsewhere it was a good day for some of snooker’s veterans as James Wattana recorded his first victory as a professional since returning to the main tour this summer, while Jimmy White built on his World Series victory with a comfortable victory against Andrew Norman. Norwich’s Barry Pinches was another experienced pro to book his place in the next round with victory against Snooker Scene columnist Jordan Brown.
Crashing back down to earth after a strong start to the season however is Matt Selt who despite making one of just two century breaks today, lost out in a deciding frame to Ben Woollaston. Indeed it has been a good week for Ben who also became the first winner in event one of Global Snooker’s new ONEFORSEVEN tournament recently.
Another surprise loser was Tamworth’s Dave Gilbert who was soundly beaten by young Anda Zhang from China.
Results