AN all-Gwent battle takes place in Manchester on Thursday when Cwm’s Mark Williams faces Newport’s Ian Preece for a place in the last 16 of the English Open.

The two left-handers both progressed to the third round today with 4-1 victories – Williams saw off Ian Burns and Preece beat Craig Steadman.

Cwmbran cueman Jak Jones also triumphed in round two at EventCity courtesy of a 4-3 triumph over Elliot Slessor, but Lee Walker was knocked out by Rhys Clark.

Williams didn’t hang about, dispatching Englishman Burns in a little over an hour, making breaks of 50, 65 and 92 in the process.

The former world champion’s cue tip split during his opening match with David John on Monday and although he struggled with the hastily-attached replacement, he did enough to come through 4-2.

He then put on a new tip ahead of his clash with Burns and claims the difference in his displays cannot be overstated.

“It was a very good performance,” said Williams. “My tip split during my first-round match and I really wasn’t happy with the one I put on as a replacement.

“So I put on a brand new one on Tuesday evening which I felt much more comfortable with.

“I played quite well there, so it’s a big difference from the first round.

“I put the tip on late Tuesday and had 10 minutes practice last night and 10 minutes this morning but it feels a lot harder than the other one, which is all you can ask for.

“I won quite quickly but there were two frames Ian could have easily clinched. I made a good clearance in the second frame so I’m over the moon with the way I played.”

Meanwhile, Preece, who earned his way back onto the main snooker tour for the start of this season after six years away, is someone Williams is looking forward to playing.

“Ian doesn’t live far from me,” explained the 41-year-old. “He’s back on the tour after taking five or six years off – he got back through Q School and is winning a few matches.

“He’s a very good potter, so it’s nice to see him back on the tour.

“It always good to have other Welsh players around but I’d be lying if I said I cared that much.

“You’ve just got to care about yourself in this game but obviously if you’re out of an event, it’s nice to see the other Welsh boys doing well.”

Watch the English Open live on Eurosport 1 and Quest featuring daily studio analysis from Ronnie O’Sullivan, Jimmy White and Neal Foulds.