First man through to the last 16 tonight is Jamie Cope, though not without a scare from fellow Stokie Dave Harold as Jamie struggled to put the match to bed…
As can often be the case with Jamie, he came out of the blocks quickly tonight against Dave Harold to move into a 1-0 and then 2-1 lead, but with the winning line in sight, began to falter, allowing his opponent back into the match and a deciding frame.
Fortunately for Jamie however, Dave could not produce to kind of form that he displayed to defeat former world number three Shaun Murphy on Saturday and despite a missed yellow in the decider, it was Cope who came through to move into the last 16.
Always a talented player and one who has shown before that he can perform well over a shorter format, Jamie will be hoping to build on his recent Shanghai semi-final with another extended run here and hopefully a maiden title. Another bonus for Jamie is that the ranking points gained from this win are enough to see him move up two places to 13th and surely guarantee him a seeding for the UK as well as a place at the Masters in January.
Dave Harold though remains in 46th place and with more points still to come off, in danger of falling further as the season progresses.
Whilst on the subject of the rankings, a couple of points to make regarding one of today’s earlier matches which saw Alan McManus hang in there against Matthew Stevens to reach the last 16 of a ranking event for the first time since the 2008 Northern Ireland Trophy. For Alan the result moves him up four places, back inside the top 48 at 47 which should help him if he can remain there until the seedings are revised following EPTC2.
For Matthew though the result is a blow to his chances of appearing in the Masters in January and means that he must win at least two matches at the upcoming EPTC event if he is to do so, possibly more matches depending on how those above him perform in the same event.