Jimmy White snatched victory in the final frame of a tough encounter with Welshman Mark Williams to win the quarterfinal tie 6-5.
White started the stronger with a break of 73 in the first frame followed up by another half century break taking a commanding 3-0 lead in this afternoon’s match.
The table’s top cushion was causing concern for both players and was fixed during the interval, after which Williams got back into the game, winning three successive frames including break of 78, 52 and 53.
Both players had chances to take the final frame but White managed to sneak through to the semi-finals.
Elsewhere,Ronnie O’Sullivan easily beat teenager Ding Junhui of China in the Masters quarterfinals to book a semi-final berth with his childhood hero Jimmy White.
Despite going 2-1 down early on, O’Sullivan powered home to a comfortable 6-2 victory with five substantial breaks including an impressive 123 and another of 92.
O’Sullivan’s young opponent was never let into the game despite his good start, and included an impressive 84 in the third frame when he briefly led the match.
Ding can take comfort in the fact that he still holds the highest break of the tournament with 141 and a potential windfall of £10,000 stg.
