Mark Williams is by far the highest ranked player left in the Northern Ireland Open as the tournament enters the quarter-final stages.
A number of shocks throughout the week have done for the other top players, while the Welshman has been able keep his head down and get the job done so far. In the last 16 he saw off David Gilbert to book his place into Friday's play. Gilbert was looking good with runs of 67 and 74 putting him 2-1 in front of the Welshman in the early stages.
However, Williams hit back well making a break of 79 (the highest in the contest) to level the scores at 2-2, before a run of 63 eventually put him 3-2 ahead and one away from victory. He needed a few chances in the sixth frame, but he was dominant in securing the 4-2 win.
Williams will now face Mike Dunn in the quarter-finals after Dunn overcame Joe Perry in round four. Perry's good form of the week so far did not continue, only showing flashes with an 81 in the fourth frame, as Dunn was able to secure a 4-1 win without making a 50+ break.
The all-North East clash saw Elliot Slessor defeat Sam Craigie 4-1 to reach his second quarter-final of the season. Craigie was not able to keep up his heavy scoring form of previous games, while Slessor was still riding high from defeating Ronnie O'Sullivan earlier in the day. A run of 50 in the first, and a 72 in the fourth after losing the third narrowly on the colours, were his highest contributions of the night as he booked his last eight spot.
There he will be joined by one of the four Chinese players that has made it into the quarter-finals. Li Yuan was able to defeat Gary Wilson in a scrappy contest that did not feature a break of over 50. Wilson was unable to continue the form that saw him beat John Higgins a few hours earlier, and Li was able to take advantage.
Yan Bingtao continues to march on in this tournament after coming through a deciding frame with Ryan Day. The Welshman must now hope to match Neil Robertson's performance in the UK Championship if he is to get into the Masters after passing up an opportunity here to put distance between the two of them. A run of 66 gave Day the opener, before a superb 97 from the fearless Yan levelled the scores before he took the next to lead 2-1.
Day this time was able to level courtesy of a 54 break in the fourth, but the heavy scoring youngster was at it again in frame five with a brilliant 113 to move 3-2 up. Day needed a couple of chances in the sixth but was able to force the decider, only for Yan to grasp his chance with two hands, making a nerveless 95 to book his quarter-final spot.
There he will face Robert Milkins after Milkins added to a last 32 victory over Neil Robertson by defeating Ricky Walden. Milkins had a superb 132 break on the way to building a 2-0 lead, but when Walden came from behind to win the third on the black and then made 56 in the fourth to level the scores you wondered if he might be the one to get over the line. However, the fifth went to Milkins as he edged back in front, before a run of 61 in the sixth was enough to secure victory.
There will be an all-Chinese quarter-final in the draw after victories for Tian Pengfei and Lu Haotian. Tian was up against Chris Wakelin in the last 16 and two runs of 76 in the match helped him to an easy enough 4-1 victory. Lu meanwhile had to see off the threat from Liam Highfield and did so by winning the final two frames of his 4-2 triumph.
Last 16 Results:
Yan Bingtao 4-3 Ryan Day
Robert Milkins 4-2 Ricky Walden
Tian Pengfei 4-1 Chris Wakelin
Lu Haotian 4-2 Liam Highfield
Li Yuan 4-1 Gary Wilson
Elliot Slessor 4-1 Sam Craigie
Mike Dunn 4-1 Joe Perry
Mark Williams 4-2 David Gilbert
Quarter-Final Draw:
Robert Milkins Vs Yan Bingtao
Tian Pengfei Vs Lu Haotian
Elliot Slessor Vs Li Yuan
Mark Williams Vs Mike Dunn
Four very interesting quarter-finals await with a lot of pressure on some of these players. The first one of Friday's play is an example of that with Slessor facing Li. Slessor has been in one quarter-final already this season but has never reached the last four, while this is now by far the furthest Li has been in a ranking event. The pair have never played each other previously, but the edge may be Slessor's given the fact he will have played on TV more than Li Yuan. Slessor overcame O'Sullivan on the TV table in the last 32 and has beaten Mark Williams on the TV table at the Welsh Open previously also. For Li this is a huge occasion and it will be interesting to see if he handles the pressure. His best win so far is a 4-3 triumph over Anthony McGill.
Following that is Mark Williams against Mike Dunn. Many will look at this match and say that Williams is a clear favourite, but we know how that has turned out for several players this week. Interestingly, Dunn has beaten Williams on all four occasions they have played in a proper match, all coming in European or Asian Tour events. Dunn has already seen off Matthew Stevens, Michael Holt and Joe Perry so will not fear Williams. The Welshman has played well all season though, and I think he will end up being too strong here on the big stage given his form. Although, he is by far the highest ranked player left in the tournament, something he needs to avoid thinking about in many ways to not put too much extra pressure on himself to take this opportunity with both hands.
The all-Chinese quarter-final is a very interesting one and a tie I could see needing all nine frames to separate the competitors. Tian Pengfei has done for Mark Allen this week and been scoring very well along the way. The pair have met once with Tian coming out on top off Lu Haotian 4-1 and while neither has made it past the quarter-finals of a full ranking event both can call on experiences of being in Asian Tour or European Tour finals. It has been a while for Lu given his time away from the tour but he has looked in good scoring form this week, but Tian has been playing well this season beating a few top players and I think he may be the player to hold his nerve.
Finally, Robert Milkins will face Yan Bingtao in another fascinating clash. Milkins has done for Neil Robertson and Ricky Walden this week, while Yan overcame defending champion Mark King and Ryan Day along the way. Both are playing well, particularly Yan who was in the semi-finals of the International Championship not so long ago either. Despite only being a teenager he has looked fearless on the big stage, but Milkins has a lot of experience of being in the back end of these tournaments without picking up a trophy. I could see this being another tight match, but Yan will be so confident right now that it is going to take a quality performance from someone to beat him.
All quarter-finals are played on Friday over the best-of-9 frames ahead of Saturday's best-of-11 semi-finals.
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