Former Champion Stephen Maguire was able to book his place in the last 16 of the Six Red World Championship taking place in Bangkok after a 5-1 victory over Wu Yize on Tuesday.
The Scot, who won in Bangkok five years ago, moves forward with a match remaining after dropping only a single frame across his first two matches.
Maguire has already won a Championship on the circuit this season after winning the World Cup with John Higgins for their home country, Scotland back in June.
In other matches of the 2019 Six Red Championship, newbies, Wu, and Kritsanut Lertsattayatthorn look ready to fight for the second qualifying place from Group B, barring an unlikely last-minute result from Luca Brecel, who has been struggling in the tournament.
Brecel will need to beat Wu and also hope that Maguire does him a favor in his match against Lertsattayatthorn. All this has to happen if the Belgian born player is to avoid a first stage exit.
Groups A and G are already completed after two players from each group continued their 100%-win rate in the competition.
Meanwhile defending champion Kyren Wilson is through along with Passakorn Suwannawat, one of many competitors from Thailand in the field.
Ali Carter alongside 2016 finalist Stuart Bingham will also meet them in the last 16 line-ups after the duo won their round-robin matches.
The other groups are all looking very tight because the last round of league matches will determine who still remains in this year’s edition of the 2019 Six Red World Championship.
Ding Junhui, who was champion in 2016 and Mark Williams who was champion in 2017, have both secured their positions, as they move into the first knockout round.
Ding has won both of his opening matches with aplomb, earning a 5-3 scoreline to top Group C. Other group members, Joe Perry, and Noppon Saengkham will both play a must-win match on Wednesday for the second qualifying spot.
Group H has a similar fixture with Wales professional snooker Willaims’ 5-4 defeating Graeme Dott to guarantee his spot in the top two.
Dott along with another former champion Thepchaiya Un-Nooh will go both faces each other for the last ticket.
While in Group E, John Higgins has also progressed after reinforcing his first victory over local hero James Wattana. He also defeated Riga Masters Champion Yan Bingtao, in a 5-0 thrashing.
Written by: Aruorihwo Imisa
