Of those left with their mental calculators ticking was Thai snooker hero Ratchapol Pu-Ob-Orm -- he has been beaten twice in the first round, round robin matches and has two matches.
A 5-1 upset suffered by former world professional champion Shaun Murphy at the hands of fellow Englishman Nigel Bond made things worse for the Thai. While the result pulled Bond through to the last 32 round, it meant Ratchapol must beat former European champion Alex Borg in the last Group C match late on July 9 night.
With two more sessions to be played on the last day of the first round, there were only a few certainties with a number of fortunes still hanging mid-air.
Thailand's Thepchaiya Un-nooh and Issara Kachaiwong have both one more match each remaining, but they are through to the next stage and almost certain to top their respective groups.
Supoj Saenla, Noppadol Sangnil, Phaithoon Phonbun and Atthasit Mahitthi have also been assured of places in the last 32 round, but former world amateur champion Noppadon Noppachorn needed victory in his last first round match on July 9 night.
If Ratchapol and Noppadon can make it then the host country would enter the last 32 stage on July 10 with a clean slate, seeing all their eight players march ahead.
Among the other certainties at the press time was that Mark King, the world No. 16, had been confirmed as the Group H winner and was most likely to be re-seeded as the top ranked title contender for the knockout stages.
Murphy, ranked No. 3 in the world, also finished his Group B matches in the No. 1 spot.
Young Judd Trump was likely to top Group A standings ahead of both defending champion Ricky Walden and Phaithoon, and John Higgins, the reigning world professional champion, was through to the next stage from Group C which had at least three players vying for the top spot.
World No. 6 Ryan Day and Michael Holt, No. 24, were in line for a place from Group D along with Supoj, and world No. 11 Joe Perry and Mohammed Mustafa Shehab of the United Arab Emirates were all set to follow Issara to the next round from Group E.
The Group F had former world professional champion struggling to stay afloat in the tournament, with Darren Morgan of Wales and Noppadol being the only two players set to march ahead. Mark J. Williams, also a former world title holder, has also cruised through with ease from Group G.
The last 32 and last 16 round matches will all be played at the same venue on July 10, with True Sport 3 televising three key matches live at 10 am, 1 pm and 8 pm. |
