Piotr Gawrys of Poland, who won the first Generali Masters, has made an excellent start to the fourth staging of the event.

By contrast the holder, Geir Helgemo, is at the opposite end of the field, having begun his attempt to retain the title by scoring 200 matchpoints on the first round.

The runner-up at what is the quarter-way stage is Bobby Richman, the only representative of his Zone in the event.

Justin Hackett, in third place, began in parallel with his twin, but opened a gap between them in the last few rounds.