Pinches Steals Win in Round One
Number one seed Barry Pinches snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against Sam Baird in the first round of the sixth Players Tour Championship event in Sheffield.
The Norwich professional was under pressure after losing his opening match in his last three outings since winning the fourth PTC event in August.
22-year-old Baird who is ranked 112 places lower than his opponent on the latest PTC Order of Merit looked impressive as he stormed to a 3-0 lead.
Pinches stole a fourth frame before reducing his deficit further in the fifth, but the Devonian looked to have wrapped up victory in the next leading 74-13 but he stumbled and when his opponent levelled at 3-3, his opportunity to cause the first upset had passed.
Forty-year-old, Pinches showed his maturity in the next and quickly sealed victory without Baird troubling the score board.
Elsewhere, seasoned campaigner, Jimmy Michie was the first player through to round two, beating Event 5 finalist, Matthew Couch by four-frames-to-nil in double-quick time.
Stoke youngster, Liam Highfield made it safely through with a comfortable 4-1win against Noppon Saengkham and will face China’s Ding Junhui who beat Ian Glover 4-2.
