Bahrain Championship Latest: Maguire and Lee on the Mark

Follow the event over at the GSC…

This afternoon saw the last of the first round matches completed and it was a good afternoon for the Stephens, less so for the Marks…

Stephen Maguire 5-3 Mark Davis

He didn’t play at his best but Stephen Maguire, the highest ranked player remaining in the tournament, moved into the last 16 with a 5-3 win over Mark Davis today.

Davis made the better start but Maguire was very patient in the second frame and levelled the scores at 1-1. Indeed it was a close one earlier on as neither player could really settle and knock in the big breaks, the score going 2-2 and then 3-3 as it seemed that an upset might be on the cards.

Maguire continued to maintain his composure in the next two frames however and managed to just about get over the line for a 5-3 win. While he will be relieved to have won, one thing for certain is that in his next match against Joe Perry he will have to play much better if he wants to reach his third quarter-final of the season. Joe is playing some of the best snooker of his career at the moment and will be keen to repeat his win over Maguire in the World Championship at the Crucible earlier this year.

Mark Davis meanwhile will take another 1,400 ranking points from the event and give his chances of moving up into the world’s top 48 a further boost in advance of the UK Championship next month

Mark King 3-5 Stephen Lee

Stephen Lee became the ninth qualifier to move into the last 16 today with a very solid 5-3 win over Mark King.

With the first two frames taking a combined total of one hour and 37 minutes, it was hardly a quick start to the match but Stephen Lee won’t be too bothered as he won both to lead 2-0. Mark edged a close third frame with a 41, but it was Lee who went into the interval 3-1 ahead with a break of 55.

Mark did not give up and won two of the next three frames to make it 3-4, but Stephen upped his game and won it with a break of 75, the highest in the match. He’ll be pleased to be in the last 16 for the second time this season, but knows that he really needs to go further if he is to stand any chance of regaining a top 16 spot. Playing Neil Robertson, himself not in great form, I fancy that he might just do so…

As for King, his struggles this season continue, he has only won the one match this season in Shanghai and will now probably slip out of the top 20 on the provisional lists. He urgently needs to sort things out next month in Telford.

Mark King 3-5 Stephen Lee 40-93(41), 39-55, 62(41)-57(50), 17-62(55), 82(82)-4, 30-49, 72(46)-42, 16-75(75)

Stephen Maguire 5-3 Mark Davis 1-85, 74(44)-13, 88(60)-13, 1-49, 71(63)-10, 21-61(52), 82-31, 65-18