Ryan Day and Matthew Stevens both won matches yesterday that placed them in the top sixteen in the Bahrain Championship taking place in Manama. Both men will face each other as they work their way to the title.

Day beat Dave Harold 5-2 with breaks of 62, 57, 59 and 84. Harold commented on Day and the loss: "Ryan is the number one at the moment. He is playing really well, and it is just hard to control him. He is definitely a big favorite. I had a chance in the sixth frame but if you are playing Ryan at the moment you have to be on top of your game. If you aren’t, you get beaten.”

Stevens stayed on top of Stuart Bingham and won 5-0. Stuart did not play his best but commented that a 5-0 victory is a great result. “It’s nice for someone to miss some balls against me for a change. I’ve been working hard in the last month and it’s good to get through to the last sixteen,” he said.

Day commented that Stevens is one of his best “mates” and it would be nice for him to be in the other half of the draw. Day also stated that he is full of confidence and never felt in danger.


- 2008-11-11