Maguire sends Ding home
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ByEurosport
Published 29/01/2007 at 22:00 GMT
Stephen Maguire booked his place in the last 16 of the Malta Cup with an excellent 5-2 victory over Ding Junhui. He meets Peter Ebdon in the next round after seeing off the challenge of the provisional world number five.
2006 Ding Junhui china open 2006 trophy
Image credit: Imago
Ding knocked in a break of 68 in the first frame after the mid-session interval to bring the match to 2-3, but Maguire dominated the final two frames to progress.
In Monday evening's other first round match, former world champion Mark Williams was pipped at the post by Fergal O'Brien.
Williams established a 52-point lead in the deciding frame, but Dubliner O'Brien took advantage of a miss by the Welshman to win it with a frame and match-clinching break of 55.
John Parrott beat home favourite Tony Drago 5-4 in a qualifying match held over to allow Drago to play in front of the Malta faithful.
Parrott moved in to a 4-2 lead, but Drago - cheered on by some passionate fans in the Hilton Conference Centre - roared back to take the match to a final frame.
But Parrott held his nerve to close out the win and book a place against Michael Holt in the final qualifying round to fight for the chance to face Masters champion Ronnie O'Sullivan in round one.
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