At the clock approaches 8pm we are yet to see the first round come to a conclusion as Rod Lawler and Jamie O’Neill remain deadlocked at 3-3 in the last of the last 128 matches in progress…
7:56pm
One man who will not be bothered about the prospect of a late night however is Welsh wizard Daniel Wells who came back from 3-0 down to defeat Neil Robertson 4-3 on the final black to book his place in the second round tonight! I was very impressed with Wells during the 2009 World Championship qualifiers and after a tricky season last time around that saw him relegated from the tour, hopefully he is back on the right track now.
Meanwhile the last 64 is now underway and the first man through is Event Two finalist and all-round good guy Barry Pinches who saw off Chen Ze by a 4-2 scoreline.
At the time of writing Shaun Murphy again seems to be in trouble, trailing Matt Selt 3-2 while Peter Ebdon is also behind against Gerard Greene. More updates to follow later and on my Twitter page…
8:07pm
Both Ebdon and Murphy were indeed in trouble as both have now exited the tournament, 3-4 and 1-4 respectively. The first round is over meanwhile as Jamie O’Neill has come out on top against Rod Lawler following a tense deciding frame to set up a tie with what I imagine will be a restless Mark Williams!
Also through to the third round is Chris Norbury, a 4-1 winner against the impressive Martin O’Donnelly, while Liu Song leads Andy Hicks 3-2 in a match that has already seen a century break made by each player…
9:06pm
Through in the last hour are Rob Milkins and Jimmy Robertson who both completed straightforward victories against amateur opposition, while Liu Song was able to complete a useful victory against Andy Hicks.
As Dave Hendon has pointed out on Twitter, the match between Alan McManus and Fergal O’Brien does not have the makings of a rapid affair and with another round still to follow after this it might be time to get the Pro Plus out…
9:49pm
What drama, having come back from 3-0 down to draw level with Welsh youngster Jak Jones, Anthony Hamilton must have felt confident of becoming the latest man to complete an impressive comeback today, but it was not to be as Jones prevailed on the final black following an eight minute safety exchange.
Elsewhere Mark Allen and Stephen Lee appear to be involved in an engrossing contest, currently in its 7th and final frame. Alan McManus has been able to seize the initiative against Fergal O’Brien to lead 3-1 while Joe Perry also leads 3-1.