Ding beats Xiao to reach last 16 at UK Championship

YORK, England - Chinese No.1 Ding Junhui beat compatriot Xiao Guodong 6-4 to reach the last 16 at the UK Snooker Championship here on Tuesday.

Ding, who won the event in 2005 and 2009, made breaks of 99, 74 and 84 to pull ahead 3-0 before Xiao scored two centruries to level at 3-3.

The next two frames were shared then Ding made a crucial 31 clearance to edge 5-4 ahead before sealing the result in frame ten with runs of 34 and 50.

Ding, ranked eighth in the world, will next take on Englishman Martin O'Donnell, who is the world number 59.

"I started well and then I struggled for a while," said Ding. "Once I got to 5-4 I had to go for it. I feel I am playing better with each match."

Marco Fu, from Hong Kong, China, was beaten 6-3 by England's Jack Lisowski earlier.

Fu, who has been recovering from an eye surgery, dropped the first three frames but managed to close to 4-3 in the next four with a top run of 119. But Lisowski got the better of two scrappy frames to seal victory.

The 27-year-old Lisowski, who had beaten Zhang Jiankan and Mei Xiwen, both from China, in the first two matches, set up a last-16 clash with six-time champion Ronnie O'Sullivan.

Lisowski, ranked 17th in the world, could climb into the top 16 for the first time and earn a place at the Masters in January.

Former world number one Judd Trump earned a match against Joe Perry by beating Mark King 6-2 with a top break of 100.

Jump, now ranked fifth, has enxtended his winning streak to 10 matches and could win back-to-back titles having captured the recent Northern Ireland Open.

Australia's Neil Robertson edged out Graeme Dott 6-5 in a contest between two former world champions.

Two-time UK champion Robertson came from 2-0 down to lead 5-4 with a top break of 86. Dott forced a decider but Robertson took it with a run of 71. He now meets Mark Allen or Hossein

Stuart Bingham, the 2015 world champion, beat David Gilbert 6-2 and scored a tournament-high break of 145, which could win him 5,000-pound high break prize.

Bingham will take on Thailand's Sunny Akani who beat Jak Jones 6-2

World number six Barry Hawkins top scored with 78 in a 6-4 defeat of Gary Wilson and set up a showdown against Kyren Wilson.

Mark Allen, who has already won the two biggest titles of his career in 2018, also advanced by beating Hossein Vafaei of Iran 6-2.