Tony Drago has gone the distance through the World Snooker qualifying tournament twice in a row. The Maltese cueman has now won a maximum 8 qualifying matches in a row that puts him on the plane to Beijing.

Drago beat Stephen Lee 5-2 in the final qualifying round to book the trip, his current form in the qualifiers makes him a very dangerous prospect when the main event starts at the end of March.

Drago told World Snooker, “I played great, I made a 122 to go 2-1 but then Stephen made it 2-2. After that I played brilliantly. It’s the result of all the hard work I’ve done over the summer. Since July I’ve been doing five to six hours a day with Jimmy and it’s paid off this season.

“It’ll be great to go but as everyone knows I don’t like flying but I’ll be going with the boys so that’ll be fine.”

In the true global fashion of snooker two further nations will be represented in the main draw in China. Bjorn Haneveer of Belgium beat Matthew Stevens to book his first venue appearance since the 06/07 season. He will be joined by the return of James Wattana. Wattana a former top 16 professional made his way back onto the circuit this year and the Thai player will be delighted with qualifying for the China Open.

> Early Results

Completed Third Round Results:

Mark Davis 5-3 Xiao Guodong, Martin Gould 2-5 James Wattana, Anthony Hamilton 4-5 Tony Drago, Rory McLeod 5-1 Jimmy Robertson, Adrian Gunnell 5-4 Barry Pinches, Stuart Pettman 2-5 Bjorn Haneveer, Jamie Burnett 5-1 Matthew Couch, Ian McCulloch 1-5 Sam Baird.

Final Qualifying Round Results:

Judd Trump 5-1 Tom Ford, Steve Davis 3-5 Mike Dunn, Gerard Greene 5-2 Michael Judge, Ricky Walden 2-5 Rod Lawler, Michael Holt 3-5 Robert Milkins, Liang Wenbo 3-5 Andrew Higginson, Graeme Dott 5-2 Ken Doherty, Barry Hawkins 5-1 Alan McManus, Stuart Bingham 2-5 Mark Davis, Joe Swail 1-5 James Wattana, Stephen Lee 2-5 Tony Drago, Dave Harold 1-5 Rory McLeod, Nigel Bond 5-3 Adrian Gunnell, Matthew Stevens 2-5 Bjorn Haneveer, Jamie Cope 5-3 Jamie Burnett, Fergal O’Brien 5-2 Sam Baird.

In the battle of the former world champions Graeme Dott got the better of Ken Doherty with a confident 5-2 win. Jamie Cope, runner-up in 2007, and a man we predicted may win a tournament this year is back in China after a 5-3 win over Jamie Burnett.

China’s brightest prospect, Liang Wenbo, will not be on the plane after being beaten by an in form Andrew Higginson.

The China Open starts on 29th March.

Photo Credit: Worldsnooker.com

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