Iranian number one Hossein Vafaei whitewashed Peter Devlin 5-0 to earn his place in the final stages of the BetVictor European Masters.
Vafaei experienced mixed fortunes during the run of qualifiers in Cannock. He secured a memorable 5-0 win over Ronnie O’Sullivan in BetVictor German Masters qualifying, but then succumbed to a 5-3 loss against Andrew Higginson in round two. Today’s win earns a trip to Fürth next February.
Vafaei eased to the line in this encounter, firing in breaks of 55, 67, 97 and 63 on his way to victory in just one hour and 28 minutes.
Ricky Walden edged out Elliot Slessor 5-4 to clinch his place in the final stages.
Walden, a winner of three ranking titles, has shown signs of a return to his best form in recent months, having made the semi-finals of the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open. He composed breaks of 57, 67, 52 and 89 during this high quality qualifying contest in Cannock.
Chinese teenager Wu Yize came from 3-0 down to defeat Michael Holt 5-4 and Ryan Day defeated Dominic Dale 5-2 with a top break of 141.
Alfie Burden secured an impressive 5-0 whitewash win over Peter Lines, while Thepchaiya Un-Nooh defeated Chen Zifan 5-3.
For full results click here.