UK Championship Day 5

Mark Davis knocked John Higgins out of the UK Championship
in a thrilling 6-5 victory over the Wizard of Wishaw

Mark Davis took advantage of a rare John Higgins slip-up to book his place in the quarter finals after a final-frame decider victory. At 5-2 up, the world number 16 appeared to be cursing to a comfortable victory but Higgins’ never say die attitude shone through as he pulled the scores back to 5-5. 3-1 behind at the interval, Higgins pulled a frame back by taking frame five but excellent century breaks of 106 and 103 saw Davis go within a frame of taking victory. However, Higgins pulled out a fantastic 147 maximum break in frame eight and won the next two to force the decider. Davis built up a healthy lead in the decider thanks to two separate breaks however Higgins got amongst the balls and looked to secure the match but missed the pink off the spot. This left a thin cut for Davis to take on into the yellow pocket. The Hastings man bravely went for the pot and sank it superbly in the heart of the pocket to secure the 6-5 win.

Teenage sensation Luca Brecel continued to impress during the afternoon session after he defeated Mark King 6-4. The 17-year-old had beaten King in the fourth qualifying round of the World Championships back in April but looked in trouble early on as King raced to a 3-0 lead. However, the young Belgian snatched back a frame before the interval before taking frames five and six to draw level. He continued his excellent run of form, taking the next two which saw him go 5-3 up. An out-of-sorts King did pull a frame back but Brecel kept his head a won frame ten to set up a quarter-final against Shaun Murphy.

The other afternoon match saw another 6-4 win, this one for Mark Selby over Ryan Day. Similar to the other match, Day had taken a 3-0 lead but Selby fought back to win frame four and won a further four frames in a row to go 5-3 up. Day won the next following a slip-up from Selby but the Jester secured the match by taking the tenth frame.

He will face Neil Robertson in the Quarter-Finals after he defeated Barry Hawkins 6-2, during the evening session. The Aussie led 3-1 at the interval although Hawkins closed the gap with a 66 break in frame five. Robertson restored his two-frame cushion by winning the next and saw out the match by winning frames seven and eight.