Walden books Grand Prix slot

Walden: Glasgow berth

Qualifying Results:
M Stevens (Wal) 5-1 M Dunn (Eng)
J Burnett (Sco) 5-0 G Dott (Sco)
S Davis OBE (Eng) 0-5 M Davis (Eng)
R Walden (Eng) 5-2 A Gunnell (Eng)
J Trump (Eng) 3-5 M Campbell (Sco)
B Hawkins (Eng) 3-5 M Joyce (Eng)
N Bond (Eng) 5-3 P Lines (Eng)
S Lee (Eng) 3-5 R Milkins (Eng)

Also see

• Snooker Schedule
• World Rankings
• Snooker DVDs

Ricky Walden booked his place in the main draw of the Grand Prix with a 5-2 victory over Adrian Gunnell in the final round of qualifying, where Steve Davis was given a 5-0 hammering by namesake Mark Davis.

26-year-old Walden has been trailing 2-1 but won four frames on the bounce, with breaks of 55 and 66 the highlights, as he made it through to the first round proper in Glasgow.

Walden is up into ninth in the provisional world rankings after making the quarter-finals when defending his Shanghai title, and he may not have to visit the qualifiers at all next season if his form continues.

"My game was pretty average today but I'm delighted to have won," said Walden.

"It's always hard to prepare yourself mentally for the qualifiers, you just want to get through to the venue. Now I'm there, I don't care who I draw because I know if I focus on my game I can beat anyone."

Nugget whitewashed

Veteran Davis will not be making the trip to the Kelvin Hall in Glasgow as a competitors after he suffered a whitewash against Mark Davis in Prestatyn.

Six-time world champion Davis has three Grand Prix titles to his name but could only manage a highest break of 37 during his heavy defeat.

Davis made a century break with a 106 to add to runs of 74, 61 and 54 as he put his name into the hat for the first round draw.

Another former world champion to miss out was Graeme Dott, as he was also thrashed 5-0, this time by fellow Scot Jamie Burnett.

Burnett will have home crowd advantage as a Glasgow native, and he is joined by fellow Glaswegian Marcus Campbell in the draw after he beat Bristol teenager Judd Trump.

Trump also lost to Campbell in Shanghai Masters qualifying and is finding life at Prestatyn much harder than last season.

"I was surprised at how many balls Judd missed, although I did put him under a lot of pressure," said Campbell. "I only live two miles from the venue in Glasgow and it's great to be involved in your own tournament."

Former Masters and UK Championship winner Matthew Stevens looked in fine form as he disposed of Mike Dunn 5-1, thanks to breaks of 63 and 65.

Former Crucible finalist Nigel Bond beat Peter Lines 5-2 to make it to Glasgow, as did Walsall's Mark Joyce after a 5-3 win over Barry Hawkins gave him a first visit to the first round of a ranking event.