Ken Doherty and Mark Selby were among the top snooker players to qualify to the main event after winning their respective matches in the ongoing German Masters qualifiers.

Ken Doherty came up against Matthew Stevens in his qualifying game, after beating Chris Wakelin 5-4. Stevens won the first frame, but Doherty quickly equalized. However, Stevens raced to a 3-1 lead. Nonetheless, Ken Doherty relented and won the next four frames to win the game 5-3.

The Darlin’ of Dublin won his last ranking even at the Malta Cup in 2006. The 52-year-old is not a favourite at the upcoming German Masters but he is definitely in fine form.

Mark Selby showed class as he easily dealt with Ashley Carty in his qualifying game. The world number 2 defeated Ashley Carty 5-1, with breaks of 57, 112, and 66.

The Jester from Leicester won the German Masters in 2015, where he defeated Shaun Murphy 9-7 in the final.

In other games played on Monday, Zhao Jianbo defeated Elliot Slessor 5-2, while Lei Peifan saw off Soheil Vahedi 5-3. Another Chinese player advanced by beating his fellow countryman. Yan Bingtao comprehensively won 5-2 against Chen Zifan.

Furthermore, it was a close encounter between David Grace and David Gilbert. Gilber win the game 5-4. However, David Grace was on a maximum in frame 7, but ended on 97.

Zhao Jianbo will now face David Gilbert, while Lei Peifan will play Yan Bingtao for a place in the main event.

Barry Pinches and Sam Craigie both thrashed John Astley and Mark Davis 5-1, respectively.

On Sunday, Shaun Murphy secured a slim 5-4 victory over former Scottish Open finalist Cao Yupeng to qualify for the German Masters in Berlin.

Thai player, Noppon Saengkham booked his flight to Germany in January with a 5-4 win over Jak Jones, while Ryan Day won Jamie Clarke 5-3. David Lilley lost 5-3 to Kurt Maflin.

Written by: Collins Nwokolo