CHRIS Melling and his Great Britain partner Jayson Shaw bowed out of the World Cup of Pool earlier in the week after an agonising 7-6 defeat to Estonia in round two.

They tackled Belarus’ all-female pairing of Margarita Fefilova and Yana Halliday in round one and survived a real scare.

In a back and forth contest against two unfancied opponents, Shaw and Keighley potter Melling looked as if they were going to go 5-3 down, but a miss on the six from Halliday allowed the Brits to level at 4-4.

Shaw and Melling would not pass up that opportunity, and went on to win 7-4.

The Estonia game the following night saw neither team at their best, and after eight racks that one was also 4-4.

And when the Baltic nation won the next two to go 6-4 up, it looked as if it was all over for the Brits.

But when Shaw and Melling levelled again at 6-6, they were right back in it.

Though their opponents, Denis Grabe and Mark Magi, had a chance in that decisive frame, it was Shaw at the table with just the five and nine-ball remaining.

But the Scot potted the cueball as well as the five, leaving the Estonians with a tap-in nine to steal victory.

Melling and Shaw were Great Britain A, but Great Britain C, who were only late entrants after Canada suffered travel issues, finished as runners-up in the tournament.

With Darren Appleton and Karl Boyes, who won the World Cup in 2014, guiding them, they romped to 9-1 and 9-0 wins in the quarters and semis, before losing the final 11-6 to Germany.