Reanne Evans enjoyed an impressive 4-1 victory over Julien Leclercq in the first qualifying round of the BetVictor Welsh Open, her second win on the pro tour this season.
Evans, the 12-time World Women's Champion, will meet Joe O'Connor on Wednesday afternoon with the winner to go through to Llandudno next week. She took the opening frame against former Shoot Out finalist Leclercq on the final black, then dominated the next two with a top break of 40 to lead 3-0. Leclercq pulled one back before Evans settled the result in frame five. Her last win on the pro tour came in December when she beat Amir Sarkhosh 5-3 in the Machineseeker German Masters qualifiers.
Tour rookie Liam Davies, age 18, took a step towards qualifying for his home tournament as he beat Antoni Kowalski 4-1 with breaks of 93, 134 and 51. Liam Pullen edged out Kreishh Gurbaxani 4-3 with a top break of 102. The deciding frame came down to the final black, and Pullen potted it to set up a tie with Robbie Williams. It was a good day to be called Liam, as Shoot Out finalist Liam Graham beat Iulian Boiko 4-3.
Dylan Emery won a Welsh derby against Duane Jones 4-2, while Ishpreet Singh Chadha top scored with 109 in a 4-0 whitewash of Baipat Siripaporn. Oliver Lines made a 136 in a 4-0 win over Ahmed Elsayed, while Stan Moody eased to a 4-0 success against Chris Totten.
The 2025 BetVictor Welsh Open runs from February 10-16 at Venue Cymru in Llandudno. Tickets are still available from as little as £33 for a full day. For details click here.