Snooker: Willie Thorne's alive and kicking

Veteran campaigner Willie Thorne followed the example of his good pal Gary Lineker by making life difficult for a German.

Thorne booked his place in the third qualifying round of the £282,000 Thailand Masters at Newport with a comfortable 5-1 victory over Germany's leading player Lasse Munstermann.

After Thorne netted the opening frame, Munstermann levelled but the famously-bald 46-year-old from Leicester then began to find the target with increasing regularity.

Thorne, who compiled breaks of 44, 52, 37 and 47 in pulling away, now faces Welshman Anthony Davies and must now negotiate three more rounds to earn a spot in next month's final stages, scheduled for Bangkok.