Easy progress in Scottish Open for Rotherham's Ashley Carty

Rotherham’s Carty, who reached the second round of last week’s UK Championship at the same Milton Keynes venue, was due to face the Maltese player tomorrow but his withdrawal means the Thurcroft potter will get a bye into the next round.

There, Carty will face either world No.71 Jackson Page or world No.18 Joe Perry, who are set to do battle in their first round bout on Tuesday afternoon.

Carty, the world No.96, reached the second round of the Scottish Open in 2018 but fell to a 4-2 defeat against Billy Joe Castle at the first hurdle last year.

The Yorkshire player has experienced a promising season on the busy snooker tour since making his World Championship debut in the summer, reaching the third round of the European Masters and the last 64 of the UK Championship and Northern Ireland Open.

He stunned two-time World Championship finalist Ali Carter in the first round of the UK Championship – one of snooker’s prestigious Triple Crown events – before slipping to a 6-2 defeat against three-time ranking event winner Ricky Walden.

All current tournaments are being held at Milton Keynes’ behind closed doors Marshall Arena as the sport continues to adapt to the coronavirus pandemic.

Carty will bid to improve on his disappointing record against Perry if the 2015 Tour champion does overcome Page, having lost against his potential opponent on four of the five occasions they have met.

Perry reached the quarter-finals of last week’s UK Championship so will be hoping for a further impressive run at the third Home Nations event of the season so far.

Watch the Scottish Open live on Eurosport, Eurosport app, and stream on discovery+