Former finalist David Gilbert will return to Berlin’s renowned Tempodrom venue for the final stages of the BetVictor German Masters in 2022, after cruising to a 5-2 win over Zhao Jianbo at qualifying in Cannock.
BetVictor European Masters qualifying schedule
BetVictor Championship League winner Gilbert had a slightly less comfortable time in the first round, coming from 4-3 down to defeat David Grace 5-4.
Gilbert did trail 2-1 in this afternoon’s encounter. However, the Tamworth cueman crafted contributions of 74, 63 and 97 on the way to four frames on the bounce, which sealed the 5-2 victory.
Masters champion Yan Bingtao had to come from behind in his 5-2 win against Chinese compatriot Lei Peifan.
Yan trailed by a 2-0 scoreline, after Lei fired in runs of 63 and 93 in the first two frames to assert himself on proceedings. However, Yan wrested back control of the tie. He composed breaks of 75, 66, 59, 81 and 61 and swept up five frames on the bounce to seal his place in Berlin.
Andrew Higginson secured his trip to the German capital with a 5-3 defeat of Hossein Vafaei.
Iranian number one Vafaei will find this a particularly disappointing loss, having scored a headline grabbing 5-0 defeat of Ronnie O’Sullivan in the opening round yesterday evening.
Higginson progressed to round two with a 5-1 defeat of Steven Hallworth. The Widnes cueman made breaks of 52, 81 and 76 on his way to this afternoon’s win.
Former English Open winner Liang Wenbo progressed with a 5-2 defeat of English Amateur Champion Ben Hancorn.
The action continues in Cannock tomorrow, with BetVictor European Masters qualifying getting underway.
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