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| Graeme Dott snook a narrow win in a nervy match against fellow Scot Stephen Maguire |
Graeme Dott kept his nerve to progress to the Quarter-Finals
after a defeating Stephen Maguire in a nail biting final frame decider. Dott
had the upper-hand in the early stages of the all-Scottish matchup by winning
the first two frames but Maguire hit back to take the next two before the
interval. Maguire won a third in a row to go 3-2 up but the momentum swung back
in Dott’s favour as he first drew level before going 4-3 up thanks to a 92 break
in the next. It was then 5-3 after Maguire conceded the eighth frame early
after missing a red to the middle, causing a warning from referee Terry Camilleri.
But a stubborn Maguire fought back by winning frame nine before hitting a 131
break to make it 5-5. A tense decider swung this way and that but Dott held the
advantage in the closing stages, requiring just the green to win. Whilst
playing a safety, Maguire knocked the pink in and a few shots later Dott sank the
green and his compatriot offered his hand in congratulation to confirm Graeme’s
progress.
The earlier match saw another Scot, John Higgins, progress
with a 6-3 victory over Ali Carter. A mistake from Higgins allowed Carter to
take the opener and a missed snooker saw the Essex-man make it 2-0. Higgins
made won the following two to square up the match at the interval and began to
dominate, winning a further two frames, including a top break of 97. A missed
red gave Carter a rare chance in the seventh which he duly took with a break of
83 but Higgins took a scrappy eighth. The match was rounded off by Higgins with
a break of 65 to progress to the last eigth.
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