Brian Cox 5-3 Jordan Geldard
This was a classic game of two halves. Geldard won the first three frames. Cox was having no run of the ball and seemed to be getting lots of kicks. Geldard on the other hand was potting well and a fine 51 break in the second frame demonstrated his intent. Cox missed a simple brown off the spot in the third and when Geldard cleared the table with a 22 Cox must have wondered why he made the long trip from Peterborough for this one.
But then things changed. Cox seemed to get a bit of running and he started to cue well. A break of 35 followed by a 22 earned Cox the fourth frame. A terrific 71 break in the fifth illustrated what a fine breakbuilder Cox is. Geldard got a kick when 20 down in the next and the resulting 23 break from Cox meant he was soon level at 3-3. Geldard had a great chance to steal the seventh frame, but when looking odds on for the clearance he fell short on the brown and then proceeded to go in-off as he tried to play the cue ball around the table. In what proved to be the final eighth frame, both players were feeling the pressure. Geldard in particular was suffering when on a break of 19 and a potential clearance he snookered himself on the yellow. This proved to be Geldard’s last real chance and Cox finished well to set up a last 16 encounter with fellow coach Barry Stark.