Drago off to China after 5-4 win

Tony Drago kept his excellent early season form going as he edged out close pal Joe Swail 5-4 yesterday in Prestatyn, Wales, to book a place in the Shanghai Masters in August.

The Tornado enjoyed runs of 58 and 116 but neither player could establish a two-frame cushion.

Swail opened the decider with a break of 20 before mis-hitting a shot to nothing. Malta's Drago made 48 and sealed it on the last red.

"I've been playing a lot of pool lately so I only had three days to practise for this," admitted 41-year-old Drago, who will enjoy a much-needed rankings boost having started the season 61st in the provisional list.

"I didn't have any expectations here and sometimes that helps. I won an invitation tournament in China in 1996 when I beat Steve Davis in the final so I love playing there."

"Shanghai is a great city. It's nice to let people know I can still play this game," added Drago who plays Ryan Day in the televised stages of the tournament in China.

Also yesterday, Matthew Stevens's first ever professional match at Pontin's ended in a narrow victory over David Gilbert - and a place on the flight to Shanghai. The former Masters and UK Champion came from 3-0 down to beat Gilbert 5-4 and earn a match against Neil Robertson in the next round.

Stevens dropped out of the top 16 following an eight-year spell among the elite after struggling with his game over the past two seasons.

That means he must travel to Prestatyn to qualify for some of this term's ranking events.

Marco Fu raced to a 5-1 win over former Scottish Open champion David Gray and will have a short trip to the event from his home in Hong Kong. Michael Judge cruised past Mark Allen 5-1.

The Shanghai Masters qualifiers, which came to a close yesterday, also saw the participation of Maltese-Australian Steve Mifsud. He was eliminated in the first round by Shailesh Jogia 5-0.