 Graeme Dott beat Peter Ebdon in a marathon Crucible final in 2006 |
Former champion Graeme Dott beat Jimmy Michie 10-5 to book his place at next month's World Snooker Championship. 2006 champion Dott, 32, heads to the Crucible after a hard-fought win in the final qualifying round in Sheffield. Stephen Lee, on bail following an investigation into suspicious betting patterns, earned his Sheffield spot after hammering Mike Dunn 10-2. Chinese teenager Anda Zhang, 18, will also be in Thursday's Crucible draw after seeing off Ricky Walden 10-8. Rookie Zhang clinched victory over 27-year-old Walden with a pair of century breaks in the final two frames of the match. With the game delicately poised at 8-8 Zhang, who is just 5ft 3ins inches tall and is nicknamed Mighty Mouse, rattled in a clearance of 134 to take the lead.  | 606: DEBATE |
He then wrapped up the win with a break of 103 in the final frame. Preston potter Stuart Pettman turned on the style on his way to a 10-2 hammering of Stuart Bingham. Pettman, 34, rolled in five half-century breaks in a dominant display. Jamie Cope was also a man in good form as he cruised to a 10-5 win over Mark Joyce. The player they call the Stoke Shotgun was on target with a break of 108 and added eight more half century breaks to ease to victory. Northern Ireland's Gerard Greene was made to work hard for his Crucible berth, the Kent-based left hander taking over eight hours to grind his way past Rory McLeod. Greene eventually triumphed 10-9 after a final frame decider to secure his spot in the televised stages which take place at the Crucible from 17 April- 3 May. The qualifying tournament, held at the English Institute of Sport, whittles down 108 Crucible hopefuls to 16 who then join the world's top 16 players at the World Championship. Famous names such as John Parrot and Jimmy White are among those who have failed to make the cut.
| 
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 
Bookmark with:
What are these?