PICKERING potter Paul Davison is Berlin-bound after winning through to the final stages of the German Masters next February.

The 40-year-old came through a tight third round qualifying match with Dominic Dale at the World Snooker academy in Sheffield to book his place in the last 32.

It is the first time he has reached the latter stages of a ranking event since he lost to Jimmy White in the World Open in September 2010.

Davison prevailed 5-4 against Dale, the world number 26.

Having led 3-2, he fell 4-3 behind, but fashioned superb breaks of 80 and 94 to force his way into the televised stages of the German tournament, where he will take on a top 16 player.

As well as valuable TV exposure, Davison’s achievements – he beat Dale’s fellow UK Championship qualifier Matthew Selt 5-4 and David Morris 5-3 in the first two rounds of the qualifying tournament – will bring him vital world ranking points as he looks to rise from his current position of 83.

Thrilled to have negotiated a path to Berlin, Davison said: “This is why you play and practise. It makes all those long hours worthwhile.

“Everyone has their ups and downs but, when you get through, it’s all worthwhile.

“I’m into the last 32 now but I have got a chance to go further. I don’t just want to get there, I want to go as far as I can – to win more matches.

“We always get good crowds in Germany. I like it over there and I am looking forward to it.”

On his match with Dale, Davison added: “He started off with a 96 in the first frame and I thought ‘if this carries on it won’t take too long’.

“I tried to keep him off the table and, in the second frame, I was 32 behind on the last red.

“I cleared up and carried on to 3-2 up when I potted the last red and didn’t get the right position and missed the yellow.

“He won the frame and then, at 4-3 down, it was a similar position to the game against Selt, where I made 102, and I could have had another hundred.

“In the last frame, I was just keeping him off and I didn’t give him a shot at a ball and I cleared up with 94.”

Davison lost out in the first round of qualifying for the UK Championship, which starts in York on Saturday and wryly added that German qualification rather summed him up.

“I live 30 miles down the road for one and when I do qualify it’s 800 miles away,” he said.

“It’s a very competitive tour. I started off provisionally at 69 (in the rankings) but I haven’t done too much in the Players’ Tour Championship events.

“I have had some tough draws – Shaun Murphy, Stephen Maguire and Mark Allen to name a few – but your main points come from ranking events.

“The main thing is to stay on the tour for this year and then (with the changes to the structure) I will have another couple of years.

“I am delighted to have got through to Germany.”