Gray and Spick Show Tons Of Class
David Gray and Lee Spick made a bright start on their return to the amateur ranks, making three centuries between them in the qualifying round of the second Star Xing Pai Players Tour Championship in Sheffield.
Having lost their coveted places on the Professional Tour at the end of last season both players are anxious to make an impact in the PTC Series as they bid to rebuild their respective careers which once held lots of promise.
Gray, a former Scottish Open winner, did lose the first frame to North West Junior Champion Kamran Ashraf, before finding his touch. The Londoner knocked in breaks of 108 and 102 and eventually ran out a 4-2 winner.
He will now face Stoke's Jamie Cope in the first round proper. Gray was enthusiastic about the new series of events and acknowledged that only having six events last season left players like himself, who were struggling to retain their ranking position, under intense pressure.
Derby's Lee Spick, one of England's brightest prospects a decade or so ago, beat Shaun Parkes 4-1, rounding off in style with a run of exactly 100.
Former world number two, Tony Knowles, famous for a love of the ladies and beating Steve Davis 10-1 at The Crucible in his hey day lost out to local youngster, Mitchell Travis .
Bolton's Knowles lost 4-2 and admitted he hadn't really practiced since competing in the World Seniors qualifiers at the end of May.
He said, "You can't afford to be ring rusty against today's young, hungry, up and coming juniors".
Joel Walker, also from Sheffield, the winner of Riley's and Ronnie O'Sullivan's Search for a Star, made his PTC debut and strolled to an easy 4-0 win over Welsh junior Callum Lloyd, with a best run of 68
