Two of the three Irishman left in the Welsh Open in Cardiff advanced to the third round with wins last night. Former world champion Ken Doherty eased past Tony Drago of Malta five frames to three, while Fergal O'Brien won the final frame in a tighter affair against England's Dean Harold.

But Joe Swail found Mark Williams of Wales in top form and went down 5-1.

Steve Davis suffered an astonishing reverse as young pretender Ryan Day edged him 5-4 to reach the last 16 of the 400,000 tournament.