Campbell conquers Germany

Marcus Campbell may be a bit of journeyman in the game after 19 years as a professional but he showed he can still turn it on by winning the EPTC3 title in Germany.

The Scot has been enjoying a spell of resurgence over the last two years, and these vital ranking points edged him back into the the top 32.

This achievement is definitely worth celebrating considering just three seasons ago he was down at 52. And while reaching the 32 may be a satisfying milestone, it also has tangible benefits for the Dumbarton Destroyer.

If he can retain his place in the game's second band by the end of the UK championships in December, he'll need to win just one qualifying match after the turn of the year to make it to the German Masters and Welsh Open proper.

After beating China's Liang Wenbo 4-0 in the the final, he thanked his fellow Scottish stars for helping him turn around his career.

And it's no coincidence that mapped alongside his turn in fortunes, 24 months ago he switched clubs, and has since been hitting the practice tables with the likes Stephen Maguire, Graeme Dott and John Higgins.

With that kind of company, it's no wonder the 38-year-old has enjoyed a marked improvement in fortunes. Between the trio, they behold all the qualities a player in the modern game could possible throw at Campbell.

His performance in the final wasn't the best. He earned a 3-0 lead despite his highest break being just 32 in these frames. But he certainly made up for this earlier in the competition where he played some fine snooker beating most notably shock semi-finalist Ken Doherty, Judd Trump and Robert Milkins along the way.

Anyone who accuses Campbell's triumph of being caused by a drop in standard at these PTC events can eat their words as well after the weekend brought two terrific maximums. Mark Williams and Thanawat Thirapongpaiboon both made breaks of 147 to take this season's tally up to five.