Hunter advances after emotional win in York

Paul Hunter produced one of the most courageous and emotional victories for many a year as he battled back from seemingly inevitable defeat to reach the third round of the Travis Perkins UK Championship in York.

The 27-year-old from Leeds, whose last six months have been spent fighting cancer, won 9-8 against Jamie Burnett to record his first success in a ranking tournament since it was announced he was suffering from the disease.

And the manner of his triumph earned a standing ovation as it tugged at the heartstrings of his many supporters in the Barbican Centre crowd.

In the final frame, Hunter needed a snooker with only the pink and black on the table, but set a trap for Burnett and gained the six points he needed before potting the final two balls.

It was an amazing win for the world number six - set to become a father for the first time later this month - who visibly struggled with his concentration and was much shorter of match practice than his opponent, a 9-7 conqueror of World Championship semi-finalist Ian McCulloch on Monday.

Hunter, who advanced to a meeting with either Jimmy White or Chinese sensation Ding Junhui on Sunday, admitted: "I'm really proud of myself. I'm so drained - I don't know how I kept playing for four and a quarter hours. But I was never going to give up."

Earlier, Ken Doherty breathed a huge sigh of relief after he earned a third round clash with Scotland's John Higgins with a tense 9-8 victory over Hong Kong's Marco Fu.

Doherty looked set to close out the match when he led 8-5 but Fu levelled at 8-8 before the Dubliner took the deciding frame.

Doherty admitted afterwards: "To say I'm relieved would be an understatement."

Higgins booked his meeting with Doherty after beating Northern Ireland's Gerard Greene 9-3.

WEDNESDAY'S MATCHES (Best of 17)
First round result:
N Bond (Eng) 9-7 D Harold (Eng)

Second round results:
J Higgins (Sco) 9-3 G Greene (NI)
P Ebdon (Eng) 9-4 D Dale (Wal)
K Doherty (Irl) 9-8 M Fu (Hkg)
P Hunter (Eng) 9-8 J Burnett (Sco)

Earlier second rounds matches:
A McManus (Sco) 2-6 A Carter (Eng)
M Williams (Wal) 7-1 M Holt (Eng)
J Perry (Eng) 4-4 B Hawkins (Eng)
G Dott (Sco) 3-5 M Davis (Eng)
M Stevens (Wal) 3-5 S Bingham (Eng)