Stoke potter Cope reached the final in Glasgow in 2007

World number two Stephen Maguire became the first major casualty of the Royal London Watches Grand Prix when he was thrashed 5-1 by Jamie Cope in Glasgow.

Cope, runner-up in 2007, made only one break over 50 as he booked his place in the last 16.

"I played quite solidly. I still made a couple of mistakes, but Stephen made more," said the world number 20.

"The 5-1 scoreline was a surprise. If he had played like he can, it would have been a lot closer."

Cope won the first frame with a composed break of 79 and though neither player produced their best form in the next three scrappy frames, the Stoke potter claimed them all though for a 4-0 interval lead.

Maguire rallied briefly with a break of 66 - his highest of the match - but Cope won the seventh to seal the victory.

"I did feel a little bit of extra pressure before the match, I was nervous, but I can't have any excuses," said Maguire.

"I never got going from start to finish. If you play six frames and you don't get going, then there's only one result."

World number four and defending Masters and Welsh Open champion Mark Selby sparkled in a 5-0 whitewash of Widnes qualifier Andrew Higginson.

Higginson made a break of 48 in the first frame, but lost it on the final black and Selby took control, allowing his opponents just 77 points in the entire match.

"I played really well, but as stupid as it sounds it could have gone against me," said Selby.

"If Andrew wins the first frame, it could be a different game and I don't go on to make those three centuries.

"I was bit gutted I didn't make centuries in the other two frames!"

World number 38 Higginson added: "He didn't miss a ball. I had a half chance to win the first frame, but I didn't do anything wrong after that.

"It's very disappointing, but there's not a lot you can do when someone plays that well against you."

Former world and UK champion Peter Ebdon eased into the last 16 with a 5-1 victory over Simon Bedford, a qualifier from Bradford.

Ebdon had breaks of 100, 48 and 53 to secure his first win of the new season.

Meanwhile, China's Ding Junhui booked his place in the last 16 with an impressive 5-0 whitewash of Jamie Burnett.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version