3rd February 2010
Howard Harding

After hovering outside the World Bowls Tour world top 16 for the past seven seasons, Scotland's Darren Burnett has guaranteed himself a place in the elite group next season after beating world number one-ranked compatriot Alex Marshall in the second round of the Gravells Welsh International Open at the City and County of Swansea Indoor Bowls Club in Swansea.

The 33-year-old from Arbroath led throughout most of the first set - but Marshall, the record five-time world champion from East Lothian who has never been able to reproduce his top form in Wales, came back to overwhelm the 16th seed in the second.

Honours were shared after the first two tie-break ends - but it was underdog Burnett who held his nerve in the decider to record a breakthrough 11-3, 2-11, 2-1 victory which will ensure the Dundee policeman's attendance in all WBT ranking events next season.

Revitalised Jonathan Ross pulled off his second successive upset in Swansea by beating England's 11th seed Billy Jackson to earn a place in the last eight for the first time in three years.  Boosted by laser surgery to his eyes at the beginning of last month, Irishman Ross despatched last season's world champion from Lincoln 6-5, 9-6.

Robert Weale will single-handedly lead Welsh interest into the quarter-finals after ending the run of Israeli qualifier Zvika Hadar.   Making his 13th appearance in the event, but yet to win the title, the tenth-seeded Welshman crushed Hadar 12-3, 11-4 - and will now hope to go on to become the first Welsh winner of the title since 2006.

It was earlier that new Welsh national champion Jason Greenslade ended his 2010 Welsh International Open campaign after a 10-3, 5-5 loss to English qualifier Nick Brett. 

Brett, the 35-year-old world No20 from Peterborough making only his second appearance in the event since his debut in 2003, will now face fellow qualifier Brett Wilkie, of Australia, for a place in the quarter-finals.