Dubliner Ken Doherty scraped past local hero Stephen Hendry to secure the last semi-final place.
Doherty won two frames on the black before running out a 5-4 winner against the seven-times world champion, who became increasingly irritated by the scrappiness of the exchanges and attempted ever more difficult pots.
"Stephen doesn't like getting involved in safety battles, so he tries to pot his way out of trouble," Doherty said. "Who are we to criticise? He's been so successful over the years playing that way. I just tried to keep it tight and make him force the issue."
Hendry managed only one half-century break, an 84, during a disappointing evening. "I didn't play well at all," Hendry said. "I was scrubbing for frames the whole match and in the end I lost another scrappy frame."
"It was a nightmare. Every time I seemed to come to the table it was awkward. There was just nothing on but I always go for my shots - that's the way I play."
Filed by Barry J Whyte
