Jimmy Robertson enjoyed one of his best ever fight backs as he came from 4-0 down to beat Zhao Jianbo 5-4 in the qualifying round of the BetVictor European Masters.
Results / schedule
Robertson won this event in 2018 and will have the chance to compete for the title again at the final stages in Furth, Germany, which run from August 16 to 21.
His chances looked slim when China’s Zhao reeled off the first four frames with breaks of 82, 53, 63 and 69. But opportunities to seal the result came and went for Zhao, as Robertson battled back to take the next four frames with top runs of 65 and 51. The decider lasted 43 minutes and came down the colours, Robertson clearing from green to pink for victory.
Hossein Vafaei made his first official 147 in a 5-1 defeat of Ng On Yee – for more on that story click here.
Stuart Bingham came from 3-2 down to beat Michael Holt 5-3 with a top break of 69, while amateur Daniel Wells top scored with 85 in a 5-3 victory over Peter Lines.
James Cahill fired runs of 75, 94, 55 and 90 in a 5-1 thrashing of Adam Duffy, while Anthony Hamilton’s top break of 86 helped him beat Mark King 5-2 in a match between two players with 62 years of experience on the pro tour.
Turkish Masters runner-up Matthew Selt suffered a surprise 5-1 defeat against amateur Haydon Pinhey, who made breaks of 65, 70, 68 and 74. Jackson Page made a 76 in the decider to edge out Hammad Miah 5-4. Rory McLeod recovered a 4-1 deficit to beat Elliot Slessor 5-4.