By elliott West
The World Cup is warning up on day 2 at the event and like a fine wine that is left to breathe just gets better for the one that savours it. The two television table events didn’t disappoint with Scotland producing a vintage performance in a battle of the more mature players against a similar breed in the form of the UAE. Unfortunately the Arabic side never got going and were unable to capitalise on the odd error made by the Higgins/Maguire partnership. If you blinked for too long you may have missed this match and it ended with a convincing 4-1 win for the players that hail from the land of Robert the Bruce.
Elsewhere in the groups, England beat Ireland 3-2 and Wales produced a convincing win against Australia 4-1, China B won against Malta 3-2 and Hong Kong were the losers against Northern Ireland, 3-2. The shock of the day was a triumph by Saudi Arabia who notched up their first ever World Cup win with a 3-2 Alajlani/Aseeri partnership win by this great Middle Eastern side. One for the record books and the players have now won the hearts of the audience and snooker fans across the world. If Wednesday is anything like Tuesday, the snooker marathon will not disappoint.
China continued their excellent World Cup campaign against Norway. The Maflin/Watts duo made a brave attempt against the Chinese warriors but unfortunately failed to take their chances when their opponents faltered. Maflin was very good in small bursts but the Nordic bicycle chain came off when it was most needed. The match became a tip tapping event in the end and too many pot attempts were missed by both sides. The last frame could have gone either way with Ding spending most of it with his head in hands but eventually a run by China A got them over the line, winning the match, 4-1. Better luck for Norway today as they face Germany.
Day 2 Results
Wales v Australia 4-1
China B v Malta 3-2
Switzerland v India 3-2
Northern Ireland v Hong Kong 3-2
England v Republic of Ireland 3-2
Iran v Saudi Arabia 2-3
Scotland v UAE 4-1
Belgium v Israel 4-1
Malaysia v Cyprus 3-2
China A v Norway 4-1
Thailand v Austria 3-2
Poland v Germany 3-2
