Snooker: Leslie comes from behind to record first pro victory

Bonnyrigg snooker star Michael Leslie put a run of defeats behind him yesterday to record his first victory as a professional, defeating England’s Michael Wasley 5-3 in the opening round of the Haikou World Open Qualifiers at the World Snooker Academy in Sheffield.
By MICHAEL GALLACHER
Published 19th Dec 2012, 12:00 BST

Leslie didn’t start well after his English opponent made breaks of 42 and 32 to go 2-0 ahead, but he recovered well to win a close third before breaks of 29 and 37 allowed the Bonnyrigg teenager to level the match at 2-2 at the interval.

Leslie then edged in front 3-2 by winning the fifth and a break of 50 helped him open up a two-frame lead. Wasley pulled one back with a 77 in the seventh frame, but in a closely fought eighth frame a run of 26 at a key point in the frame proved decisive and gave Leslie a 5-3 victory.

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Locarno based player Scott Donaldson is also through. He recovered from 4-3 down to India’s Aditya Mehta to win the last two frames and secure a 5-4 victory to set up an all-Scottish encounter against Glasgow’s Anthony McGill today. McGill produced a career best performance on Sunday, reaching the final of the Scottish Open at Ravenscraig before losing to China’s Ding Junhui.

Leslie was due to meet 
Thailand’s Thepchaiya Un-Nooh today for a place in the last 64 of the event.

Related topics:SnookerEnglandBonnyriggSheffield