PICKERING snooker professional Paul Davison starts a tough campaign of competitions next week boosted by victory over a player who reached the last 16 in the Embassy World Championship earlier this year.

Davison beat Anthony Davies 5-3 in the quarter-finals of the Merseyside pro-am tournament.

Davies, ranked 31 in the world last season, was an unexpected opponent for Davison, who thought he was scheduled to play world No 151 Lee Spick for a place in the last four.

But there was a mix-up in the draw and Davison found himself up against the top-flight player, who was eventually knocked out of the world championship by Stephen Hendry.

After winning the first frame, Davison lost the second on a re-spotted black and went 2-1 down but won the next three frames and although Davies pulled one back the Pickering man clinched a 5-3 victory on brown in the eighth frame.

His winning run came to an end in the semi-finals with a 5-2 defeat by Mark Davis, from Sussex, another highly-ranked player. Davis opened with breaks of 90 and 70 to lead 2-0, but Davison hit back with 71 and 58 to draw level. After the interval Davis fired in breaks of 87, 84 and 67 to go through to the final.

"Considering the high standard of the players who were taking part, I can't be too disappointed with how it went," said Davison, who works at Filey Snooker Centre.

Next Monday he begins a three-week schedule of qualifying matches in several major tournaments being staged at Burton on Trent.

Updated: 11:26 Saturday, August 31, 2002