Pinches makes last eight of UK championship

Barry Pinches ended a 14-year wait by reaching his first ever ranking tournament quarter-final today, with a 9-6 win over Stephen Lee at the Travis Perkins UK Championship in York.

The Norwich-based cueman has emerged as the real surprise package in a tournament of shocks at the Barbican Centre.

He won one match to qualify and has now reeled off three more victories to clinch a meeting against seven-time world champion Stephen Hendry or Ali Carter.

Pinches has struggled through much of the past decade. But after ousting world number five Lee, the world number 36 said: “I’ve heard a lot of people saying they are going to pack it in when they lose.

“I just think ’turn it in’ – because they never do.”

Pinches won the English amateur title in 1988 and finished runner-up to James Wattana 12 months later in the world amateur championship.

“Since then I’ve watched all these young kids coming through and I’ve never thought they could do something I couldn’t do.

“Besides, I’m a very laid-back person – and that’s why I’ve been able to take the losses on the chin.

“But it’s nice to play to my potential after all this time.”

Pinches began the final session with a 6-2 lead but twice had his advantage cut to just two frames.

He kept his cool, though, to make a testing 38 clearance to reach the last eight.

“The 11th frame was a huge frame that I managed to take because it might have been a different story had it gone 6-5,” he concluded.