A fitted kitchen designer slammed the door on Steve Davis at the Grand Prix in Preston last night. Jon Birch, a 31-year-old from Middlesbrough, was far too good for the six-times world champion as he caused the first major upset of the #400,000 ranking event.
''I never got anywhere near to taking control. Jon was always in the driver's seat and played to a very good standard. I've got no complaints,'' said Davis.
Work commitments meant that Birch has not practised since his early elimination from the British Open in Plymouth last month. However, having decided to adopt an attacking approach, he made few mistakes as he fired in breaks of 68, 97, 81, and a 136 total clearance to secure his place in the last 32.
''I went out there with a definite game plan,'' said Birch, whose career highlight was a run to the final of the 1989 World Amateur Championship in Singapore. ''Having played Steve before I didn't want to get sucked into a safety battle. I tried to win frames in a single visit and that meant taking on some chancy pots. Luckily for me, most of them went in.''
Birch added: ''I've found a career outside snooker and that's been good for me because it's lifted a lot of pressure.'' Results:
Second round - A Carter (England) beat J Read (England) 5-2; M Davis (England) beat D Reynolds (England) 5-3; S James (England) beat J Lardner (Scotland) 5-4; N Foulds (England) beat P del Semme (Belgium) 5-2; C Scanlon (England) beat B Jones (England) 5-1; N Noppachorn (Thailand) beat D Gray (England) 5-2; I Brumby (England) beat M Couch (England) 5-2; E Henderson (Scotland) beat S Pettman (England) 5-3; M Geudens (Belgium) beat A Burden (England) 5-2; M Selby (England) beat I McCulloch (England) 5-4; P Wykes (England) beat R Hull (Finland) 5-2; D Clarke (England) beat N Walker (England) 5-1; J Michie (England) beat M Husnu (Cyprus) 5-2; W Thorne (England) beat P Lines (England) 5-2; M Fu (Hong Kong) beat A Davies (Wales) 5-2; G Ponting (England) beat M Gray (England) 5-3.
Third round - M King (England) beat L Fernandez (England) 5-2, J Birch (England) beat S Davis (England) 5-2, F O'Brien (Ireland) beat J Perry (England) 5-2, T Murphy (N Ireland) beat J Ferguson (England) 5-2, N Bond (England) beat D Henry (Scotland) 5-1, B Pinches (England) beat P Ebdon (England) 5-3, D Finbow (England) beat D Morgan (Wales) 5-2, A Hicks (England) beat M Price (England) 5-2.
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