Night one of the first Pro Challenge event at the NSC has now been completed and it has been a night of mixed fortunes for the Scots in action. Note that tomorrow I will be in Leeds for day two and you can follow my updates over on Twitter…
Pro Challenge Event One
Tuesday 28 July 2009 – 7pm
Match 1 – Fergal O’Brien 0-4 Robert Milkins
Match 2 – Mark Boyle 2-4 Matthew Selt
Match 3 – Marcus Campbell 3-4 Andrew Norman
Match 4 – Gerard Greene 4-0 Graeme Dott
Match 5 – Ken Doherty w/o Jimmy White scr
Match 6 – Andrew Higginson 4-1 Lee Spick
Match 7 – Bjorn Haneveer 1-4 Ricky Walden
Match 8 – Mark Davis 3-4 Stephen Maguire
Stephen Maguire might be the highest ranked player in the Pro Challenge but nevertheless he was given a stern test by #47th ranked Mark Davis who took him all the way to a seventh and deciding frame tonight. The Scot however was able to come through and book a tie with Rod Lawler tomorrow morning.
It was not a good evening for countryman Graeme Dott however as he slipped to a 4-0 defeat against Gerard Greene with his new cue. Whether Graeme had his chances or not remains to be seen but he will be disappointed not to have gained more match practice this week heading into the Shanghai Masters qualifiers next week in Prestatyn.
Otherwise most of the matches went as expected, though both Fergal O’Brien and Marcus Campbell lost out to lower ranked players. Perhaps tellingly, both Andrew Norman and Robert Milkins were involved in the English Open last week so will have been more familiar with the arena and the tables.
Tomorrow is when the event really kicks off however and again I will be there so be sure to check my Twitter page for the latest updates, ahead of a full report here on PSB when I get home.
You can view the fixtures here.