TONY DRAGO finished close to tears in Sheffield last night after the cruellest defeat imaginable at the World Championship.

The emotional Maltese professional was clearing up in the 18th frame to deny unknown Welshman Dominic Dale a shock first round victory. But after taking the final red and the colours up to the pink he missed the final black off its spot.

Dale still required to sink a tricky pot into a middle pocket to keep the contest alive but held himself together admirably under intense pressure. The decider proved a nightmare for Drago whose concentration was now shattered beyond repair.

"It will be hard for Tony to cope with," agreed qualifier Dale who finds himself facing world number two John Higgins for a place in the last eight. "When he missed I couldn't believe it," he said.

Meanwhile, James Wattana narrowly avoided becoming another big name casualty as he dashed the hopes of Scotland's Graeme Dott.

Wattana began the match assured of his place in the top 16 for next season but it did not appear to make him play any more freely.

The 1988 world amateur champion built up a handy, 6-2 lead during the opening session. However despite being the youngest player in the tournament at 19, Doll possessed few nerves.

He showed his mettle to claw back the deficit and take an 8-7 lead. Wattana won frame 16 and 17 but scored only eight points in the penultimate frame as world number 58 Doll knocked in a break of 61.

Doll then suffered ill luck in the decider that was to cost him the chance of an upset and Wattana's break of 53 eventually proved decisive.

Wattana now meets another qualifier Stephen Lee for a place in the quarter finals.

Lee Walker, who beat Dave Harold in the last round proved that success was no fluke during his opening session with Alan McManus yesterday.

Despite losing two of the first three frames Walker, ranked 189, recovered his composure well to win three frames in a row with breaks of 53 and 52. However, McManus showed his quality to level the match at 4-4 in readiness for the start of the second session this morning.