The Glaswegian had to beat his friend and countryman to progress at the expense of Thailand's surprise package Issara Kachaiwong - and he did just that with an impressive 3-1 success.

All three players finished with four wins from five, but McManus topped the group with a superior frame difference.

"It's really tough on Issara because he did so well to win four matches, but someone had to go out," said former Masters champion McManus.

"It was tough for me , especially playing a fellow Scot. I won five frames on the black during the event - it comes down to the odd ball here or there and that makes it exciting."

Issara's exit was hard to take. In his five-group match he dropped only six frames,

losing only to John Higgins

having beaten qualifier McManus 3-1. But where players were level on match wins, frame difference was the key factor rather than performances against each other.

Had the latter been in

force Issara, whose last match earned him a 3-0 victory over

fellow Thai James Wattana, would have qualified alongside Higgins.

John Dee

The Nation

London