Welsh Open Day 7

Mark Williams secured an impressive 4-3 win over Neil
Robertson to progress to the last 16 of his home event.
Image: Monique Limbos

Mark Williams is the only Welshman remaining in this year’s Welsh Open as he secured an impressive 4-3 victory over Neil Robertson in a tense match which went right down to the wire.

It certainly wasn’t the best game either player had played in their respective careers and that was summed up in a bitty final frame. The crucial moment coming when Robertson missed a cut to middle, allowing Williams to pot it before compiling a break of 48 which sealed his progress.

It doesn’t get too much easier for the man from Cwm, as he faces Marco Fu in the last 16, after the Hong Kong man beat Gareme Dott 4-2 with a top run of 84.

It was the end of the road for Wales’ second highest ranked player as Matthew Stevens was beaten 4-3 by Joe Perry. Stevens was in control for most of the match and never trailed but Perry was able to force an equaliser and snatched the match with a top run of 36 in that frame. Next up for Perry is Stuart Bingham after he knocked out Michael Holt with a top run of 102.

Another Welshman to bit the dust today was Dominic Dale who was whitewashed by Mark Selby, making top breaks of 70 and 71. He’ll play Ali Carter on Thursday after the Essex man recorded an impressive 4-2 win over Mark Allen, making a top break of 94.

Pre-tournament favourite Ronnie O’Sullivan continued his assault on the title thanks to a 4-1 win over Xiao Guodong, making top breaks of 100, 54 and 78 along the way. He’ll play Ricky Walden in a repeat of their last 16 meeting at the UK Championship in December after the Chester man defeated Anthony Hamilton 4-2.

A recently in-form Shaun Murphy was a surprise loser on Wednesday as he was knocked out after a final frame decider against Liang Wenbo, who won the match with three frames on the bounce after trailing 3-1. He plays Barry Hawkins in the last 16 after the Ditton man pulled off a similar comeback from a 3-1 deficit, with breaks of 74, 134 and 50 helping him past Jack Lisowski.

There was another impressive comeback in the morning session as Scott Donaldson also came back from 3-1 down to beat Andrew Higginson 4-3. The young Scot now faces Ding Junhui in the last 16 after he defeated a battling Ben Woollaston 4-3.

Another young player who continues to impress this week is Joel Walker who also made it through to the last 16 with a 4-1 win over the experienced James Wattana. Next up for the Sheffield teenager is defending champion Stephen Maguire as he whitewashed the other remaining Welsh player Andrew Pagett.

Judd Trump is also through to the fourth round following a 4-1 win over another young Scot Anthony McGill, and will face John Higgins in the next round after he whitewashed Mark King, who only scored 15 points all match. Higgins making a 137 break in the final frame.

Last 16 action continues from the Newport Centre tomorrow, with TV matches as follows: 10:30am Carter v Selby, NB 1pm Walden v O’Sullivan, NB 2pm Trump v Higgins and 7pm Williams v Fu.

You can catch all the action live on British Eurosport, with action from the afternoon and evening games also provided by BBC Two Wales, the red button and streaming at bbc.co.uk/snooker.