Dominic Dale reached the quarter-finals of the Dafabet World Championship for the first time since 2000 with a resounding 13-4 win over Michael Wasley.

Welshman Dale did the damage in the first two sessions with top breaks of 74, 75, 59, 106, 78, 89 and 62, taking the first session 7-1 then extending his lead to 12-4. And the 42-year-old needed just one more frame to reach the last eight at the Crucible for only the second time in his career. Wasley couldn’t reproduce the form that saw him knock out Ding Junhui on his Sheffield debut, and he was second best throughout.

 

Dale won the one-frame Shoot-Out in January and will look to continue his excellent season when he faces Barry Hawkins on Tuesday and Wednesday for a place in the semi-finals.