Dubliner Fergal O'Brien takes on Mark Gray in the third round of the £400,000 Regal Scottish Open in Aberdeen this evening. This time last year, O’Brien captured the British Open title with a victory over another first-time finalist Anthony Hamilton at Plymouth. The meets Peterborough's Mark Gray who has already come through two rounds. The best of 11 frame match gets under way at 7 o'clock.
Meanwhile, David McLellan promises to give Steve Davis a closer match tonight than when they met three years ago at the world championship which ended in McLellan's first-round defeat (10-3). But after beating Jason Ferguson (5-2) in Aberdeen last night, the 30-year-old Scot has said he is out for revenge.
McLellan's countryman Graeme Dott has fond memories of the Scottish Open. Some inspired performances took the 22-year-old Glaswegian to the final of last year's tournament, but Stephen Hendry denied him a first major title. This time round, Dott is well positioned for an assault on the top 16 next season and the provisional world number 23 takes on Humbersider Sean Storey today for a place in the last 32.
Belgium's Patrick Delsemme has already served up impressive victories in the first rounds of the tournament, beating former world champions Dennis Taylor and Joe Johnson. Now, he faces his sternest test against Welsh star Matthew Stevens. The world number nine from Carmarthen is chasing his third title of the season and has already picked up one trophy in Scotland, the Regal Masters at Motherwell last October.
Another top name entering the competition today is 1991 World and UK champion John Parrott. He faces Essex youngster Ali Carter who has already beaten Davis and Hendry this term. Last night, Carter needed only 62 minutes to overwhelm Grimsby left hander Dean Reynolds 5-0.
