Carter forcing Williams to scrap

Two-time champion Mark Williams was locked in a tense quarter-final match with Ali Carter at the Maplin UK Championship in Telford tonight.

Williams had looked to be on course to progress to the last four when he claimed the opening three frames, highlighted by a 136 break in the second.

But Carter, who memorably gave up an 8-3 lead to Barry Hawkins to lose in the opening round of this event last year, showed resolve to claw the game back to 5-3 heading into the evening session.

The 29-year-old from Essex finally got onto the scoreboard in the fourth frame and followed that up

by clearing the table with a 132 break to make the score 3-2.

Williams then restored his three-frame lead, but Carter ensured he stayed in touch with a battling display in the eighth frame.

Carter had opened up a 59-33 lead in the session’s final frame, but threatened to throw away his advantage when he missed a black that would have left Williams needing a snooker with only the colours remaining.

Williams, however, could not make his rival pay – his safety on the yellow was too weak allowing Carter to make the vital pot – and in the end conceded the frame.

The other quarter-final was an even tighter affair with Hong Kong’s Marco Fu and Joe Perry locked

at 4-4.

Fu knocked Perry out of this competition in the second round last year and jumped out to a 2-0 advantage.

The match would prove slow going with Fu’s break of 67 in the opening frame the highest in the opening six frames, with the match reaching that stage locked at 3-3.

Fu got his nose ahead with a 94 break in the seventh frame, but Perry again drew level to leave the match evenly poised.