2024 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters: Round Three Evening Session Report

The performance of the evening unquestionably went to Noppon Saengkham who produced a maximum 147 break in the opening frame of his 4-1 victory against Amir Sarkhosh.

If that wasn't enough from the Thai ace, he followed up perfection with a 108 in frame two and a 104 in the match-winning frame five.

On the main TV table, Jack Lisowski kept his hopes alive of a maiden ranking event title and the £500,000 top prize here at the Green Halls as he squeezed past Andrew Pagett in a deciding frame on the final pink.

The next winner in front of the cameras was world number 17 Ryan Day, who denied 17-year-old Stan Moody 4-2 along with breaks of 53, 125 and 112. Day meets Scott Donaldson on Monday after the Scot defeated Tian Pengfei, 4-2.

David Gilbert was Sunday night's first winner as he continued his fine form by compiling breaks of 50, 73, 100 and 68 in a 4-0 victory over Alfie Burden.

Gilbert will play Jordan Brown in the last 48 after the 2021 Welsh Open Champion conjured up a brilliant comeback against rookie professional Bulcsu Revesz, winning 4-3 from 0-3 down.

Stephen Maguire recorded a trio of 50-plus breaks on his way to whitewashing Ben Mertens 4-0; Wu Yize top scored with a 64 as he recorded the same result against professional rookie Antoni Kowalski.

Neil Robertson was the last winner of a ranking event held in the Middle East at the 2008 Bahrain Championship, and the Australian got his Saudi campaign underway with a 4-1 victory over teenager Paul Deaville.

China's Gong Chenzhi continues to impress during his first season as a pro on the World Snooker Tour. The 17-year-old - who made the last 16 of the Xi'an Grand Prix last week - eliminated Jackson Page 4-2 with the aid of breaks of 64 and 70. Gong will face Neil Robertson next.

Martin O'Donnell was very relieved as he eventually saw off Matthew Stevens. The Welsh Open runner-up earlier this year established a 3-0 lead (breaks of 52 and 65), but Stevens rallied to force a seventh and final frame. However, O'Donnell kept cool and crafted a 79 break in the decider.

Another cueist who went through the same emotional rollercoaster was Lyu Haotian. The 26-year-old was in control of his tie with Marco Fu as contributions of 75 and 77 supported him to a 3-0 advantage, but three-time ranking event winner Fu came back, starting with a break of 82 in frame four before later taking it all the way. Lyu, though, did get over the line, highlighting a 61 in frame seven.

Xiao Guodong trailed Duane Jones 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2, but efforts of 64 in frame six and 73 in frame seven assisted him to a narrow 4-3 success.

Yuan Sijun registered a run of 122 during a 4-1 win over Sanderson Lam.

Having initially waited for their table to become available, Elliot Slessor’s 4-2 victory against Haydon Pinhey finished at 2.30am local time.

For the draw, results and other important details, please visit our 2024 Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters Tournament Information Centre, here.