Belfast's Allen out of UK Snooker Championship

Mark Williams and Shaun Murphy are the first two players to qualify for the quarter-finals of this year's Maplin UK Championship.

Welshman Williams, a two-time UK champion, resumed his last 16 match with Belfast's Mark Allen trailing 5-3 at the Telford International Centre, but in an incredible turnaround he grabbed himself a 9-5 victory at this year's event.

Amazingly, Williams had trailed 5-1 before winning two crucial frames yesterday to keep in with a shout of progressing.

The world number 12, who now plays either Scotland's Stephen Maguire or Preston's Ian McCulloch, impressed by winning eight frames on the spin to go through.

A shell-shocked Allen, who had match breaks of 103, 50, 115, 55 and 69, said: "I don't really know what to say, I was diabolical in that (second) session.

"I never got going at all, it was just one of those days. I was waiting for something to happen - and it never did."

While there was success for Williams, there was also plenty to smile about for Murphy, the 2005 Crucible champion.

The Rotherham player led Basildon's Stuart Bingham 5-3 overnight, but wasted little time today to win the four frames he needed for a place in the next phase.

A 9-3 victory will see Murphy now lock horns with either golden oldie Nigel Bond or Chinese ace Ding Junhui.