Noppon Saengkham was Thai and mighty after beating Thepchaiya Un-Nooh 4-3 at the BetVictor Northern Ireland Open, despite using a cue he had practised with for only ten minutes.
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Saengkham flew from Manchester to Belfast on Monday but his cue failed to arrive at the airport and is still missing. Shaun Murphy generously offered to lend the world number 28 his cue, and with the bare minimum of preparation, Saengkham managed to win the Thai derby against Un-Nooh, making a brilliant 64 clearance to win the decider from 53-4 down.
"I have to really thank Shaun because I asked a few other players but they couldn't lend me a cue because they are practising," said Saengkham, who now meets Mark Williams in the last 32. "Then I saw Shaun and he gave me his cue this morning. It meant he couldn't practise today. I only had ten minutes with his cue before my match.
"So I just tried to enjoy the game because if I'm not happy then I can't play well. I tried to play simple shots, nothing too hard. I did very well, I potted some long balls and my break-building was good, especially the clearance in the last frame. I don't know if Shaun will let me use this cue in my next match, I will have to ask him. If I end up playing him here maybe we will have to share it!"
Williams eased to a 4-0 success against Jamie Clarke with a top break of 75.
World Champion Kyren Wilson survived a spirited fight-back from David Grace to win 4-3. Breaks of 67 and 80 helped Wilson go 3-0 ahead, then Grace recovered to 3-3 with 62, 55 and 64. World number two Wilson dominated the decider with 48 and 40.
"At 3-0 I was cruising, then David made it tough for me," said Wilson, who has recently become an ambassador for the children's cancer charity Be More Fab. "I met a really inspiring girl called Florence, who we have tried to help out as her family have been through difficult times and they are local to us. We have raised a large sum of money for them and she has just got a Pride of Britain award. Doing something nice for people in need gives you a feel good factor. I'm in a privileged position where I can help people who need it, and it brings a smile to my face."
Chris Wakelin came from 2-0 down to beat Bulcsu Revesz 4-2 while Oliver Lines continued his fine recent form with a 4-1 defeat of Wu Yize. China's Ma Hailong top scored with 73 in a surprise 4-1 win over Ali Carter.