Ruthless Russell rules

The white stayed close to the cushion as Russell gave a lesson in playing the floating white8217;. Only once did he falter when, after crossing 300, he lost position trying to cross the baulkline but recovered with a soft cannon.He displayed amazing cue-ball control though he was not too pleased with his cueing, which he described as8220;terrible8221;, until he got into the 300s.

Russell, playing his first match of the championship, gauged the table and the run to near perfection and proceeded to play a billiards version of Mozart.

Rupesh, having made an 85 and 99, could only sit and watch awe-struck at the master craftsman who returned a perfect average of 100 as he finished the match in an hour and 50 minutes.

The 582 unfinished was a record under the new baulkline rule which requires the cue-ball to cross the baulkline between 80 and 99 and every 100 points thereon. Incidentally, Russell also holds the record under the previous rule with a 957.

Patel moves up: Watching Russell8217;s pyrotechnics was his next opponent Nalin Patel who had earlier beaten B Bhaskar 1001-840. Patel No 7 put in a timely break of 241 which was the cornerstone of his victory. Patel played a consistent game with three centuries 137, 128, 107 besides the double-hundred. Bhaskar came up with a belated charge when he knocked in eight half-centuries in 14visits. But his inability to build on them helped Patel to stay ahead.

Shutt dazzles: Earlier, the elegant and classy 22-year old Chris Shutt underscored his talent with a 1001-420 victory over the experienced Devendra Joshi on his way to the quarter-finals.

It was a commanding performance by the Teeside youngster whose speed about the table and the soft touch was breathtaking. Even though he was up against a fast fading opponent, Shutt remained wonderfully focussed.

Consistency also marked Shutt8217;s performance on the day as he crafted five centuries 127, 137, 102, 109, 149 and also three half-centuries over 28 visits which fetched him an average of 37.1. Small wonder then that Shutt is being hailed as the most improved youngster on the pro circuit which he joined in 1996.

Sheehan, Gilchrist advance: Sheehan, carrying on where where he had left off yesterday, showed the exit door to fourth seeded Robby Foldvari of Australia, 1003-682 to also make the quarter-finals where he meets Peter Gilchrist No5 who wore down Ashok Shandilya 1001-709.

Gilchrist, title winner in 1994, was far too consistent for Shandilya whose best moments came rather late in the day when he fired his only century break 193 of the match. Friday8217;s fixtures quarterfinals: 10 am: Peter Gilchrist vs Peter Sheehan; David Causier vs Chris Shutt. 3 p.m.: Geet Sethi vs Arun Agrawal; Mike Russell vs Nalin Patel.