Iranian number one Hossein Vafaei claimed four on the bounce to see off India's Ishpreet Singh Chadha 4-1 and make round four of the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters.
Former Shoot Out champion Vafaei reached semi-finals last season at the UK Championship and the British Open, but is aiming to go further during this campaign and secure his first ever victory in a full format ranking event.
The 29-year-old got off to a shaky start this afternoon when a loose safety during a black ball fight gave Singh Chadha the opener. However, Vafaei made breaks of 50 and 97 during a burst of four consecutive frames to secure a comfortable victory. Afterwards, he expressed his delight at competing in an event closer to home.
“Everything is nice and everything is organised. It couldn’t be better than that. I would like to say thanks to all of the organisers who support us and make this tournament happen. We are happy to have the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters in our calendar and this is a proud moment for me. I am proud that something really big has happened for the Middle East," said world number 21 Vafaei.
“When I see the younger generation, they are coming and taking pictures. They are saying they want to be like me. That is really nice. You can see how far snooker is going in the Middle East and that the young people want to start playing. That is very rare in these days. People only want to play on the Playstation, they don’t want to worry about anything. When they say they want to play snooker that makes me happy.”
Joe O'Connor rallied from 3-1 down to beat fellow Leicester cueman Louis Heathcote 4-3. O'Connor scored a massive upset win over Mark Selby at the Crucible to finish last season, but so far this term he's already suffered two first round exits. That was remedied by today's comeback win, which sees him a meeting with Lei Peifan in round four.
Thepchaiya Un-Nooh claimed a 4-1 victory to end Latvian teenager Artemijs Zizins' spirited run. Quickfire Thai Un-Nooh crafted runs of 57, 61 and 65 during the match and now plays Chris Wakelin, who beat tour rookie Robbie McGuigan 4-2.
England's 2015 World Champion Stuart Bingham defeated Xing Zihao 4-2, while Malaysia's Rory Thor scored a shock 4-3 win over Robert Milkins.