Valletta-born Tony Drago will be in action among the world’s top players when he takes part in the first qualifying round of the Roewe Shanghai Masters at Pontin’s.

In this first round, to be held next week, he has been drawn to meet 71 world ranked Li Hang of China.

Many of snooker’s most famous names will be competing in next week’s qualifiers, which run from 3 to 6 August. Former World Champions Steve Davis, Ken Doherty, John Parrott and Graeme Dott, as well as Whirlwind Jimmy White and rising star Jamie Cope will be among those aiming to secure a seat on the flight to Shanghai for the tournament proper, which runs from 7 to 13 September.

Meanwhile, last week, Drago showed that he is determined to move up the rankings – he only managed to get back in the Top 96 after his win in the European Open playoffs last season – as he battled his way to a Last 16 place in the Paul Hunter English Open in Leeds.

After finishing second in his group, Drago beat Robert Valiant 4-3 in the Last 64, Nick Jennings 5-2 in the Last 32, but then lost narrowly to Simon Bedford 5-4 in the Last 16 stage