Tonight's action from Blackpool saw the second round matches take place. The beauty of it was that the draw was only made when it came live on air at 6pm so no-one knew who was going to play who. The first match drawn was Nigel Bond against Stephen Lee and the veteran Bond managed a 91 break to win 96-0.
The youngster Trump also managed to progress into the last sixteen by the skin of his teeth. His opponent was Mark Davis and it was the closest match of the tournament so far with Trump winning 31-30. Marcus Campbell was able to beat Andrew Higginson 67-1 to also progress.
The draw didn't produce many glitzy ties but we were still given our fair share of drama. Alfie Burden looked like he was progressing into the last sixteen with a 59-39 lead over Mike Dunn with only two minutes left. However a poor snooker allowed Dunn to fluke a shot and comeback to pinch the match 66-59.
Robert Milkins impressed in the first round and could prove to be a darkhorse with a 54-9 win over Tom Ford. Stuart Bingham also progressed by the tightest of margins to beat Adrian Gunnell 37-34. Tony Drago was given a bye into the second round but only just lost the match against Rory McLeod in amazing fashion. Drago had a 59-1 lead at one stage but McLeod forced it all the way to a black ball finish, in which McLeod smashed the black around three corners before his cannoned off the cue ball into a pocket with the cue ball agonizingly close to going in as well, McLeod pinched it 61-57.
Mark Selby kept up his title credentials with a comfortable 89-6 win over Stuart Pettman. John Higgins wasn't so lucky and became the first shock of the second round as he lost 54-47 to Peter Lines. World number one Neil Robertson also showed his worth with the tightest match yet, the score was 49-43 to Alan McManus with seconds remaining and Robertson on the black. Robertson struck the shot before the time ran out but the black didn't drop until after the time was up. Referee Paul Collier stated that because the shot was struck before the time ran out then it counts and Robertson progresses with a 50-49 victory.
Ronnie O'Sullivan didn't have such drama and was able to see off Rod Lawler 93-34. Ali Carter expressed how much he wanted to win this competition but his hopes were diminished by Fergal O'Brien with the Irishman winning 57-48. Anthony Hamilton managed to beat Dominic Dale 32-15 to progress.
Steve Davis' dream was burst by Mark King after King fell one short of O'Sullivan's highest break of 113 to win 120-0. In a battle of veterans, Ken Doherty managed to beat Joe Perry with a score of 83-25. The final match of the round and the night saw Ryan Day end Graeme Dott's hopes of success with a 53-40 win. The last sixteen raw takes place as soon as the action does at 2pm tomorrow.
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