Snooker

Cliff Thorburn's nightmare start to the season continued when he lost 5-4 to Paul Wykes, of Bournemouth, in the Welsh Open qualifying yesterday. The 1980 world champion from Canada has now lost five consecutive matches.

WELSH OPEN (Norbreck Castle Hotel, Blackpool) Seventh qualifying round: G Green bt S Lee 5-4; P Hunter bt J Prince (N Irl) 5-0; M Johnston-Allen bt S Lanigan 5-0; C Small (Sco) bt I Brundy 5-0; R Lawler bt I Graham 5-1; M Flowerdew bt S Taylor 5-2; N Terry bt S Mazrocis 5-3; J Grech (Malta) bt M Davis 5-4; D Dale (Wal) bt D Finbow 5-4; D Henry (Sco) bt J Wallace 5-3; J Giles bt L Dodd 5-3; A Davies (Wal) bt P Williams (Wal) 5-2; G Dott (Sco) bt M King 5-3; W Jones (Wal) bt M Roughan 5-3; F O'Brien (Irl) bt M Rowing 5-2; P Wykes bt C Thorburn (Can) 5-4; Y Merchant (Ind) bt D Fowler 5-1; B Snaddon (Sco) bt D Clarke 5-1; C MacGillivray (Sco) bt S Murphy (Irl) 5-4; M Stevens (Wal) bt P McPhillips (Sco) 5-1; M Williams (Wal) bt K Burrows 5-1; C Scanlon bt M Bennett (Wal) 5-1; O King bt D Mountjoy (Wal) 5-2; S Pettman bt J Johnson 5-3; T Jones bt S Gill 5-3; M Hallett bt P Cavney 5-3; S Newbury (Wal) bt S Ali 5-3.