Williams Fight-Back Floors Selby
Mark Williams came from 3-1 down to beat Mark Selby 4-3 and reach the quarter-finals of the Players Championship in Bangkok.
Welshman Williams, who has reached three ranking semi-finals already this season, lost three of the first four frames against World Champion Selby despite making a break of 118 in the third.
Selby looked set for victory in frame five until he broke down on 65, and his opponent cleared from the last red to snatch it. Williams also won a tight sixth by clearing from yellow to pink, then won the decider 78-45.
Williams now meets Matthew Selt, who came from 2-0 down to beat Chris Wakelin 4-2 with top breaks of 90, 56 and 95.
New World Grand Prix champion Judd Trump kept his purple patch going with a 4-2 victory over Mark King, highlighted by runs of 78 and 83.
“Mark had a fluke to make it 2-2 when I could have gone 3-1 up,” said Trump. “I did well to hang in and win the next two frames. The run wasn’t on my side and that’s why it was quite close. I’ve had a great season and I want to carry on and try to win this one.”
Trump now faces Martin Gould, who beat Shaun Murphy 4-2 with a top break of 75.
Gould said: “I pinched two or three frames on the black and that’s the first time I have beaten Shaun. I’m delighted with the way I held myself together. I’ve been feeling really confident for a couple of weeks, as if I’m not going to miss.”
World number two Neil Robertson lost 4-1 to Mark Davis despite making a 138.
“You have to play well to beat Neil,” said Davis. “I felt good out there and didn’t miss much. There was a good crowd and I enjoyed it. Hopefully I can push on and go further. I’ve won two Six-Red titles in this arena so I seem to play well here. If I win this or the China Open I’ve still got a chance to get into the top 16.”
Davis now plays Stuart Bingham, who beat Mark Allen 4-2 with a high break of 79.
Michael Holt let slip a 3-0 lead over Stephen Maguire, but eventually won 4-3 by dominating the decider 70-8. Holt’s next opponent is Joe Perry, who came from 3-1 down to beat Anthony McGill 4-3 with a run of 64 in the decider.
Perry said: “I spent most of last night up with a stomach bug so I felt really weak and I didn’t get much sleep. Today it was a long and tough match and I just tried to stick in there. Everyone is capable of winning this. I just hope I feel good and play well tomorrow. To have a chance to win you have to keep your cool under pressure and play your best.”