Supoj had little trouble in defeating his long-time friend Nitiwat Kanjanasri 4-2. Later in the day, Supoj's 2007 Asian Championship teammate Thepchaiya Un-nooh came a cropper against Hong Kong's Fung Kwok Wai 4-2 and bowed out in the first round.There were some doubts lingering over Supoj's chances of getting the better of Nitiwat, but yesterday his rival was simply not up to the task. Nitiwat of Chachoengsao did well to keep pace with Supoj over the first four frames as the two cueists took turns to steal frames from each other. However, from frame five, Nitiwat failed to convert his chances and Supoj was simply glad to pot all the balls that mattered to move into tomorrow's quarter-finals.

Supoj said: "I was able to play at my best at times in the match, but the consistency I have been seeking was simply not there. I had some beautiful pots that entertained the crowd, but then I gave Nitiwat some openings on quite a few occasions. I am not ready to predict my chances at this stage, because it will definitely need a far better effort to win the trophy here. There are so many good players in the tournament, so it is really difficult to say anything."

Nitiwat said: "I couldn't get my act together today. I just returned from Taiwan last night after participating in an Asian pool tour event. The two disciplines are quite different, so I am just happy to have been in the final stage."

In the other last 16 round, Wai started off in devastating mood and raced to a 2-0 lead over Thepchaiya. However, Thepchaiya of Nakhon Nayok was not willing to give in easily and hit back to wrest the next two frames and even the score. Thepchaiya had a great chance to edge ahead, but Wai produced a break of 58 points to recover from 49-4 down to clinch the frame. He then coupled 11 reds with two pinks and nine blacks to build a frame- and match-winning break of 85.

Frame scores:

 Monday night's wildcard round: Liu Song (China) beat Somporn Kunthawung 4-1 (24-78(78), 76-8, 67-51, 100(55)-15, 73-18)

Yesterday's Last 16 round: Supoj Saenla beat Nitiwat Kanjanasri 4-2 (62(60)-1, 28-61, 55-34, 16-83(67), 58-9, 66-57); Fung Kwok Wai (Hong Kong) beat Thepchaiya Un-nooh 4-2 (94-15, 68-7, 41-75, 56-66, 67(58)-44, 85(85)-0)