Mark Williams and Fergal O'Brien star in first round of World Seniors Championship
Last Updated: 03/03/15 8:28am
Mark Williams provided one of the highlights of the opening day of the Betway World Seniors Championship in Blackpool with a 140 clearance in his 2-0 win over Darryn Walker.
The Welshman's break was the biggest of the opening day's play at the Blackpool Tower Circus Arena as he set up a quarter-final clash with compatriot Dominic Dale.
After edging Walker 58-30 in the opening frame, the left-hander was ruthless in the second with a rhythmical break that left the Englishman stuck in his chair without a chance of levelling the best-of-three match.
Dale edged past Nigel Bond 2-0 to secure a clash with Williams, although neither player was able to find much fluency in two scrappy frames featuring few breaks of note.
Steve Davis, who won the tournament's last edition in 2013, needed three frames to make it past Rory McLeod, and he will next face Fergal O'Brien, who was in sparkling form in his 2-0 win over Peter Ebdon.
O'Brien racked up breaks of 105 and 110 after taking both chances handed to him by the Englishman.
Former world champion Ken Doherty got the better of Jimmy White in two attritional frames, winning both by eight points, and he will take on Darren Morgan after the Welshman beat Dennis Taylor 2-0.
The fourth quarter-final will see John Parrott face Paul McPhillips - Parrott beat Cliff Thorburn 2-0 in his opening match while McPhillips saw off the challenge of Joe Johnson 2-1.
